Harry Potter and the Twick
by Dleet
Summary: In the future, James and Lily, Harry's children, are going to Hogwarts.
1. Harry Potter and the Twick

Disclaimer: All characters- you know who they are- belong to J.K. Rowling. The rest are mine. Copyright 2000.  
  
And I know that it starts out a bit like the first book. But, trust me, it branches WAY out AWAY from the first, second, third, and fourth books. Would I lie to you? Well, read at least to the fifth part and then decide for yourself.  
  
I edited everything to make it better. If you notice any other mistakes, please tell me in the review. And speaking of reviews, please give me some. I love reviews. They're like soul food. Recipe: One review, one Internet connection, one reader, one very happy author...  
  
  
FONT FACE="GARAMOND"centerChapter One/center  
  
centerPotters' Day/center  
  
Everything was quiet on Privet Drive, and Dudley was quite glad for it. It had been years since he had seen his cousin, Harry, and Dudley was quite glad for that, too. Of course, he'd heard things about him. He always heard people whispering on the corner. Dudley made sure to stay away from those people. Abnormal. Harry, judging from what the people on the streets had been saying, had twins- a boy and a girl- the same day Dudley had his own two beautiful twins- also a boy and a girl. And yes, Dudley was quite glad he hadn't heard from any of them.  
  
As a matter of fact, it had been years since the "M" word had ever reached Dudley's ears. As far as Dudley was concerned, that was a good thing.  
  
However, he had noticed odd, bad things. Especially that one morning.  
  
Dudley had first realized that those insane, abnormal people were at work while he'd been walking down the stairs in his pajamas with his hair not even brushed. He jumped as an owl flew past the window in the front of the house. He kept watching. Yes, there was another. And another. They were watching the house! Spying on himself and his family. His cousin must have done this!  
  
Owls flying around during the day in swarms. Spiders crawling all over the place, just as they had when his son and daughter were born. Not only owls and spiders, but snakes- tons of snakes. All of them were moving around wildly.  
  
His father had told him about owls. He'd never mentioned spiders and snakes, though.  
  
They were all watching them! His cousin was right then planning the perfect time to jump out and get revenge of some sort.  
  
Dudley recognized the signs immediately. The "M" word's work, obviously. As soon as he got home from work, he'd nail everything shut. No taking chances with those people. Why, his cousin had nearly set the backyard on fire once, but Dudley had immediately seen that evil spark in his eyes and had gone to get help, and in doing so had saved the day. No, no taking chances with these people. They were dangerous. Yes, sane, ordinary people like him were all in danger. As a matter of fact, he couldn't wait until he got home from work. Dudley would have to protect his family and his home immediately. This matter had to be dealt with right away. Dudley quickly worked up a story and made his voice shaky and muffled, as if he had a cold. He hadn't done this since he was a child, but desparate times called for desparate measures.  
  
Dudley called his office and said that he was severely ill- they shouldn't expect him at the office today.  
  
As he was saying his good-byes and listening to the get-wells from his coworkers who were already there, his wife Evian came into the room and looked at him suspiciously.  
  
Dudley put his fingers to his lips and tiptoed to the window, wishing that the floor wouldn't creak everywhere he stepped. It hadn't done that with his cousin- his cousin had probably cursed it somehow. He mustn't be seen or heard. Their spies were everywhere, probably waiting to destroy the normal people who weren't like them. Yes, that was it. He could easily see his cousin waiting crouched in the bushes, holding that awful wand, holding it ready to blow him and his family to smithereens. He brushed aside the curtains, dodging the sunlight like an overgrown beached whale would dodge the ocean. He stood against the wall, trying to suck in his large frame to no avail.  
  
His wife, Evian, gasped, seeing an owl fly by and then another.  
  
Dudley let the curtains fall.  
  
"What should we do?" Evian whispered, frantic.  
  
"We must stay calm," Dudley said as if he were very important and stretching himself as tall as he could go. He tried to suck in his stomach, but gave up when he realized the only change was that he was red in the face. "I shall go out into that world and get supplies to protect ourselves. But, Evian, my dearest, have the children ready. We may need to leave in a hurry. We must keep them safe."  
  
Evian pinched his cheeks, making them red and leaving two white finger marks on each cheek. "You're so brave," she said fondly.  
  
"Yes," Dudley agreed, putting on his modest expression. "I must go now. Be brave, Dearest. Be brave."  
  
Dudley dashed out of the kitchen as quickly as he could, which wasn't all that fast if one actually thought about it. He heard Evian's sigh from the kitchen and reminded himself that he was on a mission. He must protect his family at all costs. He backed slowly out of the house, carefully trying not to trip over anything. He locked the door behind him, and, certain that the lock worked, turned and left. He would simply have to hope that nothing would happen to his family while he was gone.  
  
He drove to the hardware store on the corner. Oh, no. They were already standing there, conspiring among themselves, two of them wearing robes and every one of them oblivious to everything around them- at least, that's what they wanted him to think. But Dudley Dursley wasn't dumb enough to fall for that. Whistling innocently, Dudley drove past and parked a block away. His family was more important than his fear. He had to protect them.  
  
Slowly, trying to act casual (and failing), he ambled to the hardware store, still whistling a tuneless tune.  
  
As he walked by the people on the corner, carefully averting his eyes from theirs, he caught snippets of the conversation.  
  
"-Yes, Harry Potter. Escaped again-"  
  
"-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"  
  
"-Gone. Can't find him!"  
  
"-children?"  
  
Ah, yes. Harry did have two children. He'd probably tried to kill them himself. Dudley had heard of someone called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He wasn't sure from where, though. Harry must have turned so evil and backwards that even his fellow institution friends couldn't stand to say his name unless he or she was incredibly brave.  
  
Dudley, careful not to make eye contact, bought a hammer, plenty of wood and nails, and walked out of the shop. He went home and nailed up every entrance he could think of. He stuck cotton in all of the drains because he knew that abnormal people like Harry had funny ways of doing ways of doing things. Last but not least, although it was in the middle of summer, he set up a fire in the fireplace. That way, if Harry's kind took after old St. Nick, they'd be discouraged and wouldn't be able to sit down for weeks.  
  
With the house sealed up, Dudley went upstairs. Evian had moved Shelton and Pernella's cradles into their bedroom so they could watch them through the night.  
  
Although everyone in the house was sweating, they eventually fell into a restless, but snore-filled sleep.  
  
center* * */center  
  
In the middle of Privet Drive, the lights suddenly went out. They didn't go out one at a time as they had so many years before, but the pale white lights from the street lamps went out all at once. It was late, and there weren't many lights on in the houses. People, if they had noticed it, probably would have blamed a power outage.  
  
Two figures seemed to appear out of thin air. One was a woman with a large amount of bushy brown hair which she had tied back into a bun although a few strands escaped the bun's tight hold. It could be seen that her teeth, when she smiled, were a bit large, but she wasn't smiling now. The other figure was a tall man with fiery red hair and a heavy sprinkle of freckles all over his face. The two stood before 4 Privet Drive. Once they saw each other, the woman, Hermione Granger, said, "Well, this is the muggle world."  
  
Ronald Weasley glared at her. "I know that. I've been here before. I just didn't think it would be for this."  
  
"I can't believe it happened, though," Hermione said, as if hoping he would tell her nothing bad had happened at all as she cradled one of the babies in the crook of one arm, her wand in the other.  
  
"So? Voldemort's coming back to power. We all saw it coming." Ron's voice was harsh, "I'm just glad Harry didn't get himself killed."  
  
Hermione glared at him. "Do you know how close he was?" she whispered hoarsely. "He was trying to do the same thing his mom did, except with two." She indicated the sleeping babies in her arm and in Ron's arms. "If we hadn't come along..." She let the sentence end there, not wanting to finish it for the fear that it had truly almost happened. She swallowed as Ron looked away.  
  
Ron was silent for a few moments. "But why do we have to leave these two with them? You saw what they did to Harry. Plus, they're muggles. The worst ones, too."  
  
"As far as this law is concerned, Harry is dead. He hasn't been here in years. By law, the children go to the closest relatives in the family."  
  
"Stop making stuff up, Hermione. Harry's just trying to keep Voldemort away from them." He pointed to the scars on both of their foreheads with his wand. "If he can get Voldemort to believe they're dead, maybe he won't come after them." Through the years, Ron had learned to say Voldemort's name without flinching. Hermione had learned also.  
  
"I don't see why they couldn't have stayed at Hogwarts," Hermione said stubbornly. "We would have taken care of them."  
  
"And what would happen the second they step off the grounds or out of our sight?" Ron snapped back. "Face it, this is the right thing to do. I hate to do it, sure, but we couldn't think of anything else. This will keep them safe for a while."  
  
"Do you have the note?"  
  
Ron held up his hand, letting a piece of paper fly loose in the breeze while holding on to one end of it. "I put some threats in this too. If dear Dudley doesn't show this to them when they're old enough, or when they ask about their family, I said bad things would happen. Really bad things."  
  
"Ron!" Hermione scolded. She and Ron both knew she wasn't serious, though. Without telling Ron, Hermione had added a few surprises herself.  
  
"Come on. Harry wouldn't want us to hold it off. We have to get back to Hogwarts and figure out how to deal with Voldemort again. And visit Harry in the infirmary. He's been sapped of all his energy. Madam Pomfrey won't even let him talk. It'll take him weeks to sleep off this one." He tried to grin, but failed miserably. They stood in silence for a while, looking from the babies in their arms to the front step of the Dursleys' front step. Sometimes they'd look down the street, but not once did they look into the other's eyes.  
  
"I can't believe it. All those years, and then he comes back with full power," Hermione finally said.  
  
"And of course he picked up where he left off," Ron said dryly. "Trying to kill Harry. And these two." He indicated the two sleeping one-year-olds with his wand again.  
  
"Doesn't it strike you odd that the same thing happened? Harry, when he was one. Parents died. He got that scar. Had to live with muggles. And then these two. He would have died for them if we hadn't come when we did. They got scars, too. And now, they have to live with muggles." Hermione had gotten used to calling them muggles a long time ago. Ron knew that, although she wouldn't admit it if asked, Hermione called her own parents muggles.  
  
"Of course I think it's weird. But there are two of them. And Harry turned out okay. Even my mom noticed," he joked, not mentioning that compared to Fred and George, all boys were good.  
  
She shook her head, refusing to believe him. "I hope they're okay."  
  
"Me too. Well, I guess we've put it off long enough."  
  
Hermione adjusted the blanket around the baby girl in her arms so Ron couldn't see a tear slide down her cheek. "Yeah."  
  
Ron quietly took the girl from her and carried both the boy and girl to the front step. Hermione followed slowly. As he set them down, he said, "Never forget us. Your dad, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione. Deal?" One of the babies yawned and turned over. Ron sighed and placed the paper on the boy's blanket and pinned the blanket and the note together.  
  
Behind them, Hermione said good-bye also, and then Ron walked with her back to the sidewalk.  
  
"You know, if this keeps up, instead of Harry Potter Day, I think they should just call it Potters' Day," Ron commented.  
  
"Let's hope it doesn't," Hermione said sharply.  
  
They looked around them, and, seeing no one watching, seemed to disappear in the middle of the sidewalk. As soon as they did so, all the lights blinked back on.  
  
  
centerChapter Two/center  
  
centerLetter on the Doorstep/center  
  
"Don't you dare!" a voice yelled hoarsely. "If you even so much as-" the voice was familiar, yet far away, and he couldn't quite place it. Although it was slightly hoarse, it still sounded nice, as if just the sound of it meant safety. The voice's owner started to mutter to himself. Or maybe it was to him. It was suddenly cut off by a different voice- one that was the complete opposite. One syllable of it was nearly sickening, revolting, disgusting. It made him shudder just to think about that voice.  
  
"Oh, come now. You don't think that I'd let them live, do you? I won't even be able to take care of those two until I kill you. It's a part of history."  
  
The words were louder now, but soft and slightly murmured, like the person was speaking through something. He couldn't understand most of the words, but he once again knew that the owner of the voice was crying.  
  
"Oh, how touching. But come, it's time to get back to business. Now, where were we before we were interrupted last time? Oh, yes. Enjoy watching your children die, Harry-"  
  
He saw a blinding flash of light. The voice became strained, but it kept on. By now, he couldn't understand any of the words through the sobbing and the person in the background, threatening. He saw more bright flickers of bright light. The voice sounded more strained and tired, as if the person was giving everything he had into the words.  
  
"Harry! What are you-"  
  
James sat straight up in bed. He looked around and pulled a string. A bare light bulb, a thirty watt, attached to the ceiling, blinked on. He reached for his glasses as he realized that he was covered in sweat. He looked in the direction of the other small bunk, where his sister, Lily, was also sitting straight up.  
  
"You too?" he asked.  
  
She nodded silently and the leaned over and stuck her hand under the bed after wiping sweat off of her forehead. First, she fetched a pair of glasses identical to his, slipped them on her small, skinny nose. She stuck her hand under the cot again. A few seconds later, she raised her hand once more. On it, James saw just what he had expected. A brown spider. A brown RECLUSE spider, Lily was always saying with pride. James himself went to his cot and felt behind it before he lifted a large garter snake. They'd found the two animals a year or two ago. Apparently, they had escaped the cold of winter by hiding in their stockings at Christmas. Every once in a while, the children wondered how that could have happened. They hadn't found any answers, though, and the spider, named Brownie, and snake, named Poison, had remained good and loyal pets.  
  
"Think it's time for breakfast?" Lily asked. She started brushing her fingers through her hair, knowing what the answer would be.  
  
"Isn't it always time for food here?"  
  
Lily felt under her cot again and this time came up with a brush. She tried to pull it through her black mass of curls, but after about five strokes gave up and gave the brush to James, slipping Brownie under her hair at the back of her neck. James had better luck with his hair, but it still took him a few minutes to get all the knots out. He himself stuck Poison in his shirt, which used to belong to his cousin and was so big that the lump around his waist wouldn't attract that much attention. After that, the two pulled their bangs down to completely cover the scars on their foreheads. When they were younger, they had asked Uncle Dudley about them, but he had simply muttered something about a plane crash and then yelled at them for asking.  
  
Finally, they went out into the hall as quietly as they could. Aunt Evian and Uncle Dudley, along with their cousins, Shelton and Pernella, were upstairs, asleep.  
  
They had several chores to do in the Dursley home. Every day, they cleaned the entire house and did all the lawn work, whether it was a school day or not. Those, plus the extra chores, or favors, as the Dursleys called them, took up their time entirely.  
  
Together they walked into the kitchen. They gasped when they saw that Aunt Evian was at the table, reading the paper and eating toast. James felt Poison tighten around his waist, nearly suffocating him. Lily felt Brownie rub her fangs together. Both animals wanted to get the Dursley family to punish them for what they did to James and Lily, but the children never let them for fear the Dursleys might take their pets away or, worse, kill them.  
  
"Oh, so you two finally get up and out. I want you two to know that I had to get up and make breakfast myself. It's very good, too, if I do say so myself. Not that you two will be having any of it. You'll have extra chores for your tardiness and laziness. Now get the mail."  
  
Lily squeezed James's hand. He nodded slightly. She immediately darted out of the kitchen to go get the mail while he started making the two's breakfast.  
  
Lily went out onto the doorstep. She knew the mail wouldn't be there, but it was nice and warm compared to the Dursleys' home. And the sun never failed to cheer her up. Although she would never tell James, she often got sick of it- life with the Dursleys and everything about it. She hated the school they went to, where Pernella's group of friends simply loved to pick on her, and where James was her only friend. Everyone else was afraid to be friends with either of them because everyone feared the wrath of Pernella's group and Shelton's group, who loved to pick on James. After breathing in the fresh air for a few moments, she walked back inside and closed the door silently. She picked up the mail scattered on the floor. Three were bills; two were letters to the Dursleys, but it was the last one that attracted her attention the most. The address read:  
  
FONT FACE="SIGNATURE"centerJames and Lily Potter/center  
  
center4 Privet Drive/center  
  
centerThe Cupboard Under the Stairs/center  
  
FONT FACE="GARAMOND"Holding the envelope delicately in one hand, she walked slowly into the kitchen, as if the slightest breeze might crinkle the paper. This was their first piece of mail. Ever. Who could possibly write to them? Why? She put the mail on the table silently. Then she cleared her throat and said to James, "We got a letter."  
  
James's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What!? We got a letter? From who? Why? What?" James started spilling out questions.  
  
Aunt Evian nearly choked on her slightly burnt toast. Her brow wrinkled. "Who did you say it was for? Who is it from?"  
  
"I don't know who it's from, but it's addressed to James and me."  
  
Suddenly, Aunt Evian was on her feet, diving for the letter, snatching it out of Lily's hand, and bellowing, "DUDLEY!"  
  
The younger two humans (not to mention their pets) in the kitchen heard a pounding on the floor above them and looked at each other, confused. After a few hurried shouts of "What is it?" and "I'm coming. Don't worry," and "I'll be right there," the children saw their Uncle Dudley pant into the kitchen, along with Shelton and Pernella.  
  
The run down the hall and tumble down the stairs had not helped his looks. He was red in the face, and his cheeks were huffing and puffing in and out as if they were red hot air balloons that had a hole in them and were repeatedly blown up all the same. His blond, greasy-looking hair now looked orange against his red scalp. His numerous chins quivered as he bent over and laid his beefy arms on his thick legs. "Yes, Sweets?" he asked.  
  
Shelton, who came hobbling (pounding) behind Dudley, resembled his father for the most part. He was also blond, and quite round. His nose, although big, seemed small compared to the rest of his face. His ears were so small that they were nearly invisible. Every time James saw him, he was reminded of an earless elephant. Shelton wasn't out of breath, though, since he got exercise from beating up the kids (such as James) at school with his group of followers.  
  
Pernella's blond hair was long, straight, and stringy. Her head was so big and round that the hair failed to cover most of her neck, and although it was several inches long, it couldn't even reach her shoulders. Her nose was small, and that wasn't an illusion or trick of the eyes. Her eyes were beady, and her lips were thin as they covered her wide mouth. She never failed to remind Lily of one of those pigs that wins everything at the fair as long as it involved weight. She wasn't out of breath, either.  
  
Aunt Evian waved the letter in her hand. "It's happened. The letter came today."  
  
Dudley's face suddenly went pure white. "How did it come?"  
  
"Lily found it in the mail. It's addressed to them, too. 'The Cupboard Under the Stairs,' it says."  
  
Shelton and Pernella eyed the two curiously, then turned to each other.  
  
"Who d'you think would send ithose/i two a letter?" Shelton asked Pernella.  
  
"I haven't a clue," she answered casually. "Maybe one of the rats in the wall learned how to write!" They chuckled.  
  
Aunt Evian went white. "Don't you dare ever say that rats live in these walls, do you understand?"  
  
Shelton and Pernella nodded, agreeing, yet smiling in their wicked way.  
  
Uncle Dudley suddenly turned to face Lily. "What did you do?" he asked her harshly. "How did you contact them? Did you-" James moved a few inches, then a few feet, until he stood between his uncle and his sister. "The same thing happened to your father, and look what happened to him."  
  
Although Lily was confused and more scared of her Uncle Dudley than she ever had been before, she heard him mention her father and suddenly felt that she needed to know more. She'd been told all her life that her parents had died in a plane crash at sea and that their bodies had never been found; Lily and James knew nothing of their parents beyond that. They weren't allowed to ask about it or else they risked getting locked up in the cupboard. She gave in to the temptation to try and find out more. "What about our father?" she asked as she pushed her glasses further up her nose. Uncle Dudley never mentioned their dad. And she always wanted to know more, always hoped he'd let something slip.  
  
Uncle Dudley jerked slightly, realizing what he had done. "Nothing. Let's have breakfast. Then," he sent a quick glance at the fireplace and then a fast look at his wife, pulling at his robe around his neck as if it were suffocating him, "then we'll all go on a vacation."  
  
Shelton and Pernella clapped their hands together and looked at one another. They always went on trips with their dad. They were always glad to get away from their cousins, at least. "Where are we going, Pops?" Shelton asked.  
  
Uncle Dudley looked at James and Lily. "How would you two like to go to New York?"  
  
Now it was their turn to look at each other. "We- Uh, we-" James stuttered.  
  
"You're asking them?" Pernella spat out, pointing at James and Lily.  
  
"Well, of course. After all, they are part of the family, aren't they? And, well, they should come with us. It's for the best." James, who was closer to Aunt Evian, heard her mutter, "And safer if their kind can't find us."  
  
Under his shirt, he heard a soft hissing sound. iYour kind?/i Poison inquired.  
  
James shook his head, as if in disbelief and said under his breath, iI don't know what it means, either./i  
  
"What was that?" Uncle Dudley asked, looking at him down his fat, oversized nose. He reminded James of an unhappy, upright elephant.  
  
"I uh, I-"  
  
"Do you have that snake? In the kitchen? After I told you to get rid of it?"  
  
Poison muttered some things in his own tongue which James knew were bad, but he thankfully couldn't hear quite all of what Poison was saying. He struggled with whether or not to tell the truth as Lily looked at him desperately and Shelton and Pernella had looks of obvious amusement on their faces, and Aunt Evian's had a look of growing fear and apprehension on it. Uncle Dudley's remained unreadable. Apparently, Poison decided for him. The snake unwrapped himself from James's waist and crawled upwards. He poked his head up through the neck of James's shirt.  
  
Uncle Dudley straightened and jumped back with a small cry. James's cousins stared. Aunt Evian gave a shriek and clapped her hand over her mouth right before she sank into a chair.  
  
iYou shouldn't have done that/i, James told Poison.  
  
iWhat sshould I have done? He dessserved it. He dessservesss a lot more./i  
  
James shrugged.  
  
Uncle Dudley turned to Lily, moving James away with his hand. Poison reached out for Uncle Dudley's hand, but James grabbed his tail.  
  
"And I suppose you still have that spider?"  
  
Lily nodded the slightest bit.  
  
iIt's okay. Tell him I'm here. I want to speak with him. Give him a piece of my mind/i, Brownie directed her.  
  
iYeah, right after you kill him/i, Lily retorted. iAnd then where would you be? Squashed on the bottom of someone's shoe. And I'd be without a spider./i  
  
The six waited in the kitchen for what seemed like an eternity. James and Lily moved to be close enough to hold hands. Uncle Dudley stared at them, considering. Aunt Evian made a run for the bathroom when she saw Brownie come out from under Lily's hair and settle on the girl's nose, waving her fangs at her husband menacingly. Shelton and Pernella sent many confused glances towards one another.  
  
"Okay. I suppose you can keep the pests. As long as they behave. And if anything goes wrong, anything, I'll lock you two- Never mind." Uncle Dudley paused and started to breathe slowly, obviously trying to calm himself down. After about two minutes, he said, "Now let's eat breakfast and then pack. And hurry, too."  
  
Everyone's mouths dropped. No one, absolutely no one, had expected him to say that James and Lily would be able to keep their pets. Uncle Dudley ignored all of their looks and went to the table to begin feeling his plate with pancakes, loading them with butter and syrup.  
  
One by one, they sat down. James and Lily sat at one end of the counter, and the Dursleys crowded one another at the other end of the table.  
  
When the pancakes reached the two children, there were only two. One for each. James put a pancake on Lily's dish, and then a pancake on his. Then he gave them each a small amount of the butter and syrup that was left, making sure that they both got even amounts. Lily told him how much he had left to go while Brownie informed her.  
  
Meanwhile, now that he was out in the open, Poison made himself comfortable as possible on the table, coiled like his relatives, the real poisonous snakes, always were. He made his head look as pit viper-like as possible. When he saw how much the two Potter children had to eat, and then saw how much their relatives had, he made up his mind.  
  
He uncoiled himself and in a flash, was racing Shelton's fork to the stack of pancakes on his plate. He snagged two pancakes and ripped them away, dropping them on James's plate.  
  
James looked up at Uncle Dudley, fearing the worst.  
  
"Daddeeeeeeee," Shelton wailed, glaring at James and looking at the snake as if he were about to cry. "That- that- that thing took my pancakes and stole them for James."  
  
Dudley stopped eating with his fork halfway in the air between his own stack of pancakes and his mouth. "Don't worry about it, we'll get you more in New York."  
  
Shelton glared at James harder.  
  
iDon't do that again/i, James warned Poison, who was looking smug and more so by the second as he eyed Shelton.  
  
"Did you just talk? To the snake?" Aunt Evian asked.  
  
James looked at her. "I, uh, I guess so."  
  
Pernella eyed Lily. "Can you talk to that spider of yours?"  
  
James nodded for Lily. It had just dawned on him that they were afraid of them for some reason. He was going to milk it for all it was worth while he had the chance. "And there's a spider by your foot right now. Want her to get him to bite you? She can," he finished threateningly.  
  
Pernella jumped up and ran out of the room as Lily chewed, confused, on her pancake.  
  
"Well," Uncle Dudley said, standing up and clapping his hands, ignoring the crumbs that fell from his chins. "Let's get packed, shall we? I'm sure I can book a flight for us."  
  
The Dursleys jumped up and nearly ran from the table. James and Lily got up and calmly started putting away the dishes out of habit.  
  
iYou know, Brownie told her, /ithe two of you don't have to put away the dishes. iI don't think they'll mind/i.  
  
Lily smiled, glad to have a conversation with her pet in the open kitchen. iI don't mind. I guess it seems like fun now./i  
  
iWhat do you think all that talk was about?/i James asked Poison. iIt seemed like they were afraid of us./i  
  
iOnly one way to find out/i, the snake answered calmly. iAnd that isss to get that letter, and find out what it sssaysss./i  
  
And so the morning went. Lily and Brownie moved on to the normal conversation, like the weather and what Brownie had heard about the latest spider family in the attic. James and Poison started talking about a Nintendo 64 game of Shelton's that they'd like to play.  
  
center* * */center  
  
"And you're positive that she had the letter in her hand?" Harry asked.  
  
"Harry," Hermione said, slowly but surely losing her patience, "why would we lie to you? That woman Evian snatched it out of her hand."  
  
"She was in shock," Ron said. "I mean, she saw the address, and it was as if she were a zombie or something. Or maybe a robot."  
  
Harry sighed irritably and looked to Hermione. At last, he said exactly what Ron and Hermione had expected. "Get them here. I don't care how, I don't care what you do, but I won't have the Dursleys do this again. Especially to my own children."  
  
Ron looked at Hermione and then Harry. "Harry, you've heard the rumors. They'll be easier to find at Hogwarts."  
  
Harry glared at him. "Don't you think I know that? Voldemort isn't dead. We all know that. It's a good thing the entire wizarding world doesn't know about it, that's for sure. But according to our sources, he's searched everywhere. He knows, just as well as we do that there's only one place left I would possible ever send them." He got up and started pacing. "We need to get James and Lily out of there quick. Bring them somewhere safe. At least at Hogwarts they'll have a chance. And they can learn magic, just like we did, so they can protect themselves."  
  
Hermione sighed. They all knew what they had to do, but Harry was looking worse and worse every day. Madam Pomfrey was beginning to follow him around in the halls, and even Draco Malfoy wasn't sneering at him as much.  
  
"Fine. They're going to New York. To the U.S. We'll go to, give them some more letters, be invisible, all that. But we'll bring them back here, Harry."  
  
Harry nodded as they walked out of his office. 


	2. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 2

Most of the characters belong to J.K. Rowling- you know who they are. The rest are mine. Copyright 2000. 

Chapter Three

Invisible Screamers

Barely twenty minutes later, James's and Lily's suitcases, ratty old pieces of trash that Uncle Dudley had loaned to them, maybe two feet by three and five inches thick, were waiting by the front door. There were only two- one for James, and one for Lily. Upstairs, they could hear Shelton and Pernella arguing about what to take with Uncle Dudley and Aunt Evian. "I want to take my video games." "No, you can't. You wouldn't have time to play it." "Why can't I take my IBM computer and laptop?" "Because- just because. Now get a move on." 

James and Lily went to the kitchen, trying to get all the syrup off of their hands. They remained silent, hoping their Aunt or Uncle might let something slip, but no such luck came. 

_You know_, Poison offered, _I could get them to tell what they're hiding_. He opened his mouth to show his fangs a bit. 

Lily, who couldn't understand what Poison was saying just as much as James couldn't understand Brownie, reached down to pet Poison's head, knowing what he must be saying without understanding. 

"He said that he can get them to tell us what they're hiding," James told her. 

Lily thought and then turned to Brownie. She told the spider what Poison had said. _What do you think?_

_No. Absolutely not. If they see that menace, they'll punish you two beyond belief, and you still won't find out what it says._

Lily told James. 

She watched as James and Poison hissed to one another, obviously arguing. _I jussst don't sssee_- the snake muttered. 

_You don't see that they could take you away from us._

_But_- 

_No buts, no arguing about this. We'll have to try something else._

Poison looked thoughtful. _What isss it they do on televisssion? Ah, yesss. It'sss called pick pocketing. Think we ssshould try that?_

James looked to Lily and told her. Lily consulted Brownie. 

_Do what you want_, the spider said at last. _But when you get stuck in your own web, don't come crawling to me to get you out._

They heard a rumble from upstairs above their heads. "Honestly, Dudders, what did you pack?" Aunt Evian bellowed. 

"Just some things for work." 

"Mommy? May I take my dolls?" Lily smiled to herself. Pernella only played with her dolls when she was scared. 

Aunt Evian's sigh was heard all the way downstairs. "All right, but not all of them." 

The ceiling shook as Pernella jogged as quickly as possible to her room to get her beloved dolls. 

THUMP! THUD! THUNK! 

James and Lily looked at each other and then ran into the front hall, where the Dursleys were throwing suitcase after suitcase down from the stairs below. James darted between them and snatched his and Lily's suitcases. 

"I hope nothing's broken," Lily said as she quickly unzipped hers. She looked inside and then breathed a sigh of relief. 

James opened his and peered inside. It didn't seem like anything had been broken. He felt deeper inside, where he had hidden a baseball card that used to belong to Shelton and was now very expensive. If his calculations were right, one of the heaviest packs had landed right on top of it. Please don't be bent, he prayed. Finally, he felt a bit of plastic and pulled out the bag he had put it in. He breathed again as he saw that it was fine. He quickly stuffed it back as he heard Shelton yelling from above. "No! Don't throw that one! That has my laptop and Nintendo 64 in it!" He had yelled to late, though, and the suitcase fell to the ground, sending an audible cracking sound of plastic breaking. The sound was followed by Shelton's wails. 

_You forgot usss_. James turned around and saw Poison slithering towards him. 

Lily turned as she heard Brownie remark, _You left me on the counter back there, young lady, and that's no way to behave. Now what would have happened if I had gotten squashed? Or stuck in someone else's web? Or worse, what would have happened if I had found myself in your aunt's dreadful mystery dessert?_

_I'm sorry_, Lily said quietly. 

_Too late now, isn't it? I thought I'd taught you better._

James said to Poison, _Hey, I'm sorry. I thought you could take care of yourself. I guess I was wrong._

The snake eyed him and dropped his head lower to the ground, curling himself up. _You want to sssay that to my faccce?_

"Are you talking to your pet again?" 

The four turned and saw Shelton, sneering at them. 

"Yes," James said with great pride. Now that he could talk to Poison in front of people, he wasn't going to bother trying to hide it. "Can you talk to yours?" 

Shelton laughed cruelly. "I'm not a freak. Go talk to the birds outside, DooLittle." 

"Boys? Enough," Uncle Dudley snapped as he came down the stairs. 

"But Dad, he was-" 

"I know what he was doing. And don't criticize him for it, either, or I swear, boy... Hurry. Let's get all of our stuff and then get to the airport. We have first class tickets to New York in an hour." 

It took close to half an hour to get the backs packed in the back of the van, and they left Shelton's broken laptop and Nintendo 64 inside. James and Lily kept their suitcases with them, clinging the handles tightly in their hands. 

Uncle Dudley dropped a heavy suitcase on his foot and jumped around the driveway, screaming, as Brownie retreated to hide under Lily's hair, and Poison managed to tie himself once more around James's stomach, nearly suffocating the human. 

"What was in that! That HURT! WHO packed THAT BAG!" Uncle Dudley rubbed the sore spot on his foot. 

Aunt Evian turned around in her seat in the van and smiled sweetly at him. "You packed that bag, dear. Remember? Your office things?" 

Uncle Dudley quieted and looked at James and Lily. "In the van," he said. 

Before he got in, he looked around quickly, as if watching for anyone who may have been spying on them. Aunt Evian, also, looked around nervously during their drive to the airport. 

Brownie commented on this to Lily. _I think they're scared of someone._

_I think they're scared of some_thing. 

_Maybe both._

_Maybe us._

They parked at one of the farthest possible parking places since they got to the airport so late. 

"Everyone," advised Uncle Dudley, "hurry." He handed them their separate tickets, hesitating a few moments before giving James and Lily theirs. 

With that, everyone grabbed their suitcases, or suitcase, and ran as quickly as they could to the airport entrance. James and Lily made it first, handed in their tickets, and waited impatiently. New York! They were actually going to New York! 

"Anyone riding with you two?" the man asked. 

James pointed at the Dursleys, who were huffing and puffing across the parking lot. 

The man nodded. "Gate 32A. Have a nice trip." 

James and Lily ignored the baggage area. Their suitcases were small enough to take on the flight as carry-on. The two ran all the way to Gate 32A and handed their tickets in to the lady standing there, waiting for the last minute people. 

James muttered out of the side of his mouth, "Wouldn't it be funny if the Dursleys missed the flight, but we made it?" 

Lily frowned. "It wouldn't be funny at all. We'd need money, wouldn't we? Excuse me, ma'am," she said as she gave her ticket to the woman. "Our relatives are being... held up. Would it be too much to ask for the plane to wait a few moments until they come?" 

The woman smiled, showing all of her white teeth. "No problem. The planes don't take off right away, anyway, and there's a bit of a traffic jam on the runway. So I think we can wait on them." 

Lily smiled and thanked her. 

"Poison is in my shirt," James whispered to her. "I don't think they'll let snakes on the plane. Spiders too. Is Brownie all right?" 

Lily asked the spider, to which Brownie responded, _Of course, girl. What do you think I am? Stupid? I'm a spider, for Athena's sake._

The two children grinned at each other as they entered the cabin. 

"Excuse me, sir," James said with a bit of hesitation. "Could you help us find our seats?" 

The man took one look at their tickets and then led them to two seats in the front of the first class section. "Thank you." 

_Yeah, thanksss for nothing,_ Poison muttered as he tucked his head out from under James's shirt and saw a blank wall in front of him. 

"Ladies first," James said to Lily, adding to it an elegant bow as he waved her to her seat. 

"Thank you, good sir." Lily gave a low curtsy to him before she went and sat down. As she heard the crinkle of paper, she jumped up. "Hello! What's this?" 

James took the envelope from her and looked at it. "Hey, look at the address. It's 'The Worst Seats in First Class.'" 

_You got that right,_ Poison muttered. 

James laughed and told Lily. 

"Poison! Really, they're better than some seats. And we can move around once the flight starts," she told him. 

_Isss ssshe sssaying sssomething to me?_ Poison wondered aloud. 

James smiled and shook his head. _He_ wasn't going to be like a mother to _his_ pet. Instead, he held the envelope, ready to tear it open. He looked at Lily. If she said it was okay, everyone but his family would say it was okay. "Think we should?" 

Lily nodded slowly, staring at the envelope so hard that Brownie had to instruct her, _Careful, girl. You're beginning to drool._ At this, Lily straightened and said, "We'd better, and quick. Or else we'll never find out what it says." 

"Not to mention who's writing this to us," James agreed. 

He tore the envelope open greedily. He took two pieces of paper out. He hastily but carefully unfolded the first page. "Wait a minute. Lily? Read that. Make sure I'm reading it right." 

_Careful._ Brownie poked her with one of her eight legs. _There are two people standing over James's chair._

She didn't need to look to see that no one was there. _You must be imagining things,_ she told her spider. 

She took it as he handed it to her. "Hogwarts School of Wizardry." She looked at him. "Think it's a joke?" 

James ran a hand through his hair, even though most of it sprang back into place. He quickly rearranged his bangs to cover up his lightning-shaped scar. "Who knows?" 

"Then again," Lily muttered, mostly to herself, "whoever sent this went through a lot of trouble. They find out where we live, not just that, but _in what room_ we live in. I thought that could have been a trick of Pernella's or Shelton's, but then the way Uncle Dudley and Aunt Evian acted..." Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw Brownie climbing on the chair. "And then they knew to find us here, on the way to New York. And look at the address _that_ time. So either someone is stalking us, for some reason, or this might actually be real." 

James rubbed his head. "As those Americans would say, _Oh brother._" 

"You know, we say that too." 

"But we always say, 'As those Americans would say, Oh brother.'" 

"Well, we're going to America, so maybe you could drop the first part." 

"All right. As those Americans would say, _brother._" 

Lily laughed. 

"Ow!" something screamed. 

The two children spun around, facing the invisible air. Many of the other people in the cabin turned to look, too; except that while James and Lily were looking behind them, the other people were looking directly at them. Lily flushed crimson and sank in her seat. James turned around and stuttered as he mumbled, "Suitcase hit my foot." Then he, too, sank into his seat, a deep crimson in his face. 

On the nape of her neck, Lily felt Brownie settle back into her usual spot. _See?_ Brownie told her sharply. _There was someone there. If that brute who calls himself a snake had been paying attention, he would have seen too._ She added proudly, _I bit one of them._

Lily patted the her hair gently so as not to crush the spider. _Thank you. I'm sorry I doubted you._

_You mean the part where you said I was 'imagining everything?'_

_Yes. But could you tell me if you see them again? I think we might want to talk to them._

_In the name of Athena, of course. What do you think I am? Blind_ and_ stupid?_

Lily smiled and told James. 

He shook his head. "A school of wizardry and now invisible people. What next?" He took out the letter again, holding it so the two of them could read. 

Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice that made them jump. "Just what, exactly, are you doing? And _what_ is that in your hand?" They looked up and saw Uncle Dudley, laden with carryon luggage, a pile of which he had let go of so he could point at the letter the two were holding. 

"Uh, nothing," Lily said quickly, as she pulled the letter away from James. She was about to stick it in her pocket after crumpling it a bit to prove it was worthless when Uncle Dudley dropped all of his luggage and dived for it. 

She tried to pull it out of his reach, but he was faster than he looked. "Give me that," he grated, "or else spend the rest of your life locked in that closet!" 

She slowly handed it to him. Maybe they could get another chance. Or another letter That would be even better. Nevertheless, she didn't want to spend the rest of her life in that dingy hole. She didn't want to spend more time there than she had to. 

He grabbed it, snarling, and walked off to gather up the items he had dropped. 

Shelton and Pernella came up behind him, both red in the face from the mad dash from the van to the plane. 

"My, my, Little Lily," Pernella crooned evilly. "It seems as if you ticked off Daddy a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if he locked you in that closet anyway, after the way you two have been behaving." 

"Yeah, getting those letters that upset Daddy and Mum so much. I'll bet you planted them, just so you could have a good laugh." 

"Go run into a concrete wall," James shot back. "Oh, I'm sorry. You'd just bounce off." 

Shelton gave a little humph and walked off, followed closely by Pernella, who left with a flouncing of her skirts. 

"Did you read any of the rest of the letter?" James asked Lily quietly. 

She shook her head. "I was hoping you had time to. I only read the Hogwarts School of Wizardry part." 

James and Lily held each other's hand as a few minutes later, the plane took off. It took forever, but the final roar and the feeling of being pushed down into your seats, yet at the same time made them feel as if they were air, was both exhilarating and frightening. James would have felt more frightened, but he saw Shelton grabbing his armrests and pale as a ghost, which cheered him up a bit. Lily, also, would have been much more afraid, had it not been for the sight of Pernella holding all of her dolls close to her, screaming, "Mommeeeeeee!!!!!" 

_This is about as much fun as having a bird wreck your new web,_ Brownie muttered in disgust. 

_I think I'm going to be sssick, _Poison consented. 

* * *

"Well? Isn't this a lovely plane ride?" Ron asked Hermione sourly. 

"Oh, Ron. You're just angry because that spider bit you." 

"Wouldn't you be mad? The darn thing was poisonous, too." 

"It didn't hurt that much, you big oaf. And besides, I suppose you _made_ it bite you. Maybe you put your hand in its territory or something." 

"Spiders don't have territory," Ron said sulkily. "And did you see it afterwards? It crawled straight to her! It went _under her hair,_ and she didn't even seem to notice, much less care." 

Hermione clapped her hands together. "Why don't we find out?" she asked. 

Ron looked at her skeptically. "What do you mean by that?" He saw her excited face and clapped his own hand over his mouth. "Surely you don't mean- _talk_ to them, do you? Actually _talk_ to them?" 

"Well why not? I've been waiting nine years to talk to them, Ron. And now look. We've missed so much. The least we could do is have a conversation with them. Find out a little bit about them. Besides, we'll have to talk to them to get them to Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, won't we?" 

Ron still looked doubtful. 

"All right. Look, we don't have to tell them who we are. We don't even have to tell them that we're _connected_ to them." 

Ron bit his lip. "I guess. I've been waiting nine years, too. And I _am_ curious. Well, let's get this over with before my conscience catches up with me." He got up, muttering, "Isn't it your job to care about the morality of things?" 

She simply grinned as he pulled on her hand and led her to the front of the plane. All of the lights were off, but the moonlight shining from outside in the night sky gave enough light for them to see the two white heads topped with the unruly black hair. 

"Well? What now?" he asked Hermione. 

"Uh. To be honest, I'm not really sure. I guess I hoped so much..." 

"Yeah, don't worry. I know the feeling." 

"Maybe we could wake them up?" Hermione asked hopefully. She sat on the arm rest of a chair across the aisle. Then she looked back to where James and Lily were sleeping peacefully. Lily had her head in James's lap, while he was leaning back against the seat with his head slightly resting on her head. "No. I suppose not." 

They turned back to head to their own seats. Ron caught a glimpse of the sleeping Dudley, who was so big that his round body covered the armrests on both sides of the chair, and it looked as if he might slide off at any moment. 

"Dudley," Ron said harshly between grated teeth. "Look at him. Do you know what I'd like to-" 

"Save it for New York, Ron," Hermione advised. 

Ron stared at Dudley, saying nothing. Then he slowly nodded and continued back to his seat, muttering, "I guess he didn't heed our warnings." 

"He'll regret it. I'm not one to speak about muggles, but he's-" Hermione choked on her next few words in anger. "How could he do that to them?" she whispered hoarsely at Ron in the dark. "Harry could barely fit into that room, but _both_ of them! They get less than Harry ever had." 

"Now who gets to say, 'Save it for New York?'" Ron asked, smiling slightly. 

Hermione grinned tiredly. "I suppose. But you can't call me Ron." 

"Wouldn't dream of it." 

They settled down for the rest of the trip to New York. 

"Where's the Invisibility Cloak?" Ron asked, whispering frantically. 

"Right here in my seat. I thought you might forget." 

"Gee, thanks." Ron turned over and fell asleep. 


	3. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 3

Hi, and welcome to THE DISCLAIMER!!! (Echoes fade into the distance.) Almost all of the characters were created by the great 'n wonderful J.K. Rowling. The rest were products of my imagination. As always, Copyright 2000. 

Chapter Four

Unexpected Visitors

Uncle Dudley walked into the hotel room, beaming to himself. "I got everything set," he said with pleasure. "No one comes up here without our permission. Now," he said, clapping his hands. "Let's all get some food." 

Shelton and Pernella looked at the Potter children, who were sharing a chair and looking at the hotel suite in awe. "Surely you don't mean for _them_ to go, do you dad?" Shelton asked sweetly, indicating James and Lily. 

"Well, uh." Uncle Dudley started to sweat and as a result loosened his tie and undid his top button. "I'm afraid you two can't come," he told them, looking as apologetic as he could, although he'd be glad to have them out of their sight. "It's better for your, uh, safety." 

"We don't mind, Uncle Dudley," Lily said sweetly. She and James had talked it over at dawn in the plane. They had to have some time to themselves to search for the letters. Truthfully, it disgusted her to have to be this nice to Uncle Dudley, but it had to be done. 

Aunt Evian ran out of the room, Shelton and Pernella following closely. Only Uncle Dudley hesitated in the doorway long enough to say, "Room service will be up soon. Tell them to bill it to the room." 

James and Lily nodded. As soon as the door shut, they leaped up. 

"I'll look in the closet!" shouted James. 

"I've got the suitcases!" Lily chimed in. 

They went into Uncle Dudley and Aunt Evian's room and searched, but didn't find anything. They switched positions, but all they succeeded in doing was messing up the luggage. However, they did find that Uncle Dudley had two holes in his jacket collection. 

They went back into the main room, panting. 

"We could watch TV," James pointed out. 

"And there is a nice view," Lily said thoughtfully. 

In the kitchen, they heard the sound of something being knocked over. James heard, _Whoopsss._

"Poison!" James shouted, jumping up. "I completely forgot about him. I can't believe I did that!" He walked into the kitchen. "Oh, no," he moaned. 

Lily stood up and hurried to where James was standing. "What is it?" she asked. Though as soon as she walked into the kitchen, she knew. 

Poison was stretched out in the middle of the kitchen floor, reclining among snack food, spilt milk, opened bottles of water, and several other foods that the Dursleys had bought for the hotel room, perfect for late-night snacks. Poison glanced at Lily and decided that she wasn't worth his attention. He proceeded to dive into the Gummi Bears Shelton and Pernella had bought. 

"Do you still have Brownie with you?" James asked her. He stooped and picked up a Gummi bear, looking at it from all sides. Except for a bit of butter on the ear, it looked all right. He popped it into his mouth and grinned as Lily groaned. 

She felt the back of her neck and then scooped up the spider to be sure. "Yeah." 

_What?_ Brownie asked irritably. 

_Sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were there. After what Poison did..._

_My Athena. What has that brute gotten into now?_

Lily turned her hand around so that Brownie could see Poison, who was at that moment testing to see what Gummi Bears dipped in butter tasted like. 

"Gross," Lily muttered as she saw him swallow one greedily. 

Just then, the doorbell rang. "Crud," James muttered as he dodged past Lily. He ran to the door and threw it open. A man and a woman were wearing street robes, standing behind a cart that was loaded with plates and dishes. James could smell the delicious smell, even from under the porcelain that was covering the hot things to keep them warm. 

"Room service," the man said happily as he wheeled the cart into the room. 

James closed the door and looked back at them. For some reason, they weren't getting ready to leave. Instead, they were eagerly watching him and Lily, who had come to stand in the doorway of the kitchen to see what was going on. 

"I'm sorry," James said slowly, "but we don't have any money for tips. Our uncle said to bill it to the room." 

The man's eyes flashed in anger. It quieted when the woman grabbed his arm. 

"We aren't here about that, James. Why don't you come in here, Lily? We're here to talk to you about Hogwarts." 

"I'd like to," Lily said quietly, "but Poison got a mess all over the kitchen, and James and I stepped in it. I don't want to ruin the carpet." 

James looked behind him and saw that he had, as a matter of fact, stepped in all of the things Poison had somehow gotten from the refrigerator, tracking splotchy footprints across the carpet. "Oops." 

The woman smiled at the man next to her. "Your specialty." 

The man took a stick out of his shirt. He waved it around at the footprints and said a word. Quickly, in a fuzzy flash of light and with a sigh, the footsteps disappeared. "Bottom of your shoes, please, James." James obediently sat on the floor, showing the bottoms of his shoes, hoping to see more magic. The man said the word again, and James felt a vibration lift his feet like those things he'd seen on ER that the doctors put on the person's chest to make them jump. The feeling went up to his knees, decreasing as it went. "Now for the kitchen," the man muttered. He started walking towards Lily, and James got up to follow. He wasn't scared of these people, and he didn't think they'd hurt them, but just to be on the safe side... 

Still, their voices seemed familiar somehow. 

"May I see your shoes?" the man asked Lily. "I don't want you to be afraid to walk on the carpet." 

Lily jumped on the counter and held up her shoes to him. As she felt the pleasant tickling spread through her legs and feet, she commented, "Brownie says that you're the ones who were on the plane. The ones who were invisible." 

The man nearly dropped his wand. He and the woman looked at each other. 

"Who's Brownie?" the woman asked cautiously. 

"She's my pet," Lily said casually. "Sorry she bit you. She saw you watching us, and I guess she's a bit protective." 

"Huh," the man said. He cleaned the mess in the kitchen, leaving Poison in a state of awe. 

_Where did all of the food go?_ he asked James. _Where are my Gummi Bearsss?_

James shook his head as he carried the garter snake into the living room. The woman gave a bit of a start when she saw him carrying his pet snake. 

"May I ask what that is and where you got it from?" she asked. 

"We found Poison- that's my snake- and Brownie a long time ago. Must have been, what?" he asked, turning to Lily. "Two or three years ago?" 

She nodded. "Two. He can talk to Poison, just like I can talk to Brownie. Is that magic? Have we been magic all along? I thought you needed spells for that." 

The woman smiled. "First things first. Introductions. I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger. And that," she said as she pointed to the man, "-is Ron Weasley. We went to Hogwarts with your father." 

"Our dad?" Lily asked in a rush. "What was he like? Was he a wizard?" 

_Shush,_ Brownie instructed her sharply. _You're making my exoskeleton ache._

Lily settled back in her chair, embarrassed and glowing red at her outburst of asking questions. 

"You're dad is great." 

"Wait," James interrupted. "You said 'is.' Our parents died a long time ago. In a plane crash." 

Ron sighed. "That's a trademark of the Dursleys. They're what we call muggles. People who have no magic in them at all. Or at least not wizard blood. Your relatives, save your mom and dad, are not exactly good people. They're afraid of magic. They did the same stuff to your dad." 

"Is our mum alive?" Lily asked. 

Hermione and Ron looked at each other. "Uh, no," Hermione said slowly. "We're having some problems in the wizarding world. There's a powerful wizard, uh, warlock, named Voldemort, the most evil, strongest warlock the wizarding world had ever seen. He killed your mother. After he killed your mother, he started to come for you and your father. Your father had already worked a protection spell for himself, but you didn't have one, because for that particular spell, you have to say the words yourself. And of course, you couldn't speak yet, so he started doing a very complex spell that sapped the strength out of him. If Ron and I hadn't arrived, well..." She looked at Ron before she continued. "That's how you got those scars on your foreheads. After that, your dad decided that it wasn't safe for you. He had us bring you to these muggles. It was hard on us all, but I think he knew we'd do what he asked, even if he couldn't do it himself. We left you with these muggles, your only living other relatives. We knew they 'd be mean to you; they were mean to your dad, too. But we knew that it would only be for nine years and then two months in between. We started counting the days as soon as we got back. And now, here we are," Hermione finished, waving her wand and free hand around at the hotel room. She looked up at Ron, searching for some sign that she'd done well. 

"How do you know our names, though?" James asked. 

"Well, we're friends with your father, but you two are famous, too." 

The Potters gaped. _"Famous?"_ James asked. 

_What about 'Famousss.'_ Poison said as he crawled out of the kitchen towards James. 

"So you can talk to that snake, huh?" 

James looked away from the snake to Ron. "Yeah." 

"It's called Parseltongue. Your dad can do that too." 

James felt his cheeks grew warm. His dad could talk to snakes too. After knowing nothing- at least nothing true- about his father for so long, James never thought he'd know _that._

"Can he talk to spiders?" Lily asked. 

Ron and Hermione shook their heads. "Talk to the overflowing vat of information," Ron told her, indicating Hermione. 

Hermione grinned. "Talking to spiders is a very rare gift. The chances of being able to speak Areanatu, the language of the spiders, is one in a million, if not less. I doubt anyone has been recorded as having it in the past," she paused and seemed to be doing math in her head before she continued, "two hundred years. And that person, a man, upset a lot of spiders. One night they rallied together and poisoned him." 

Lily cringed, thinking a newborn spider she had insulted when she was little. Then again, the spider had been trying to make a home in her shoe. 

"Well, I think we should get out of here before those muggles come back. We have to get your school supplies." 

"School supplies?" James and Lily echoed. 

"Yeah, you know. You'll be first years at Hogwarts, so you'll need the usual. Wands, robes, books, cauldron." Ron looked at them. "Didn't you read the letter?" 

James shook his head. "Uncle Dudley took it away before we got the chance to finish. All we saw was the 'Hogwarts School of Wizardry.'" 

Ron nodded slowly. "Dear Dudley," he said sourly. "If I'd known... What do you say, Hermione? Should we leave a little surprise for our dear friend?" 

"'A little surprise?' I was thinking more along the lines of colossal." 

Ron grinned and looked at James and Lily. "You two had better wait here. Wait. Do you have your things?" They shook their heads. "Are you packed? We can wait, I suppose." 

"We aren't packed. But it won't take us long, Mr. Weasley." 

He flashed her a toothy smile, saying, "Don't bother to call me 'Mister.' When we're at Hogwarts, it'll have to be 'Professor Weasley-' unless we're in private, that is. And then besides that, you can call me Ron, or Uncle Ron, or whatever you like." 

"So you're our uncle?" 

This time, Ron laughed. "No, no. Just a good friend of your dad's. Go ahead and call me Ron." 

"Okay, _Ron._" Her mouth felt odd as the name rolled off her tongue. She smacked her mouth a few times and muttered it under her breath, looking intently at a vase. "Ron." She'd never called a grownup by their first name before; she hadn't dared. It would take some getting used to. 

"Same here," Hermione added. 

"Okay, _Ron._" James smiled. After all, she had said, "Same here." Didn't that mean calling her Ron also? 

Hermione grinned, catching on. "Keep it up, and I'll glue your mouth shut." 

James hastily shut his mouth, looking at her with suspicion. She laughed and motioned to Ron to follow her into Uncle Dudley and Aunt Evian's room. "Time to make trouble," she told Lily with a grin. 

When they had gone, James and Lily ran to their rooms, smiling and running so fast that their pets had to yell at them to stop. As soon as they had shut the door to their room, James shouted, "Can you believe it! We're wizards! Real wizards! Going to an actual Wizards' school! Hog- something or other!" 

"Hogwarts," Lily supplied. "I can't believe that we're finding out about Dad! They actually _knew_ him. Know him! Can you imagine!" 

James laughed as he threw some oversized shirts into his suitcase. 

They walked out of the room, pets tucked into their usual hiding places, suitcases held tightly in their fists. As soon as they stepped across the threshold, they saw Ron and Hermione in the living room, talking and waiting for them. 

Hermione saw the two first. She stood up. "Ready?" 

The Potters nodded. 

Ron clapped his hands together. "Then it's off to Diagon Alley." 

"What's that?" Lily asked. 

"Diagon Alley is where all the magic- _good_ magic people go to get their supplies. That's where we'll be going so we can get your things for Hogwarts." 

"Won't Uncle Dudley and Aunt Evian worry? Or at least wonder?" 

Hermione looked at Ron and chose to answer for the both of them. "I, uh, think we've made it quite clear to him where you've gone." She grinned as she lifted her wand and shook it, sending silver sparks around the Potters, Ron, and herself. She said a word, and then the world began to spin... 


	4. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 4

Most of the characters- you know who they are- were created by the brilliant J.K. Rowling. The rest are from me. By the way, Copyright 2000. 

Chapter Five

Shopping For Hogwarts

When her vision cleared, she saw that she, Ron, and the two Potters- James and Lily, were all in the positions they'd been in when they'd left the hotel. She looked around and was not surprised to find herself on a busy street, in the middle of a crowd of people. At first, the people looked up, surprised, but they were used to people suddenly appearing out of nowhere and soon went back to their own work. She peered at the two Potters, who were looking around them in awe. Hermione breathed a contented sigh. She still remembered what she had felt like when she had found out that she was a witch, the feeling of amazement, fear, and the expected knowledge to come had nearly overwhelmed her. 

"Well, Ron? What do you think? Gringotts first and then robes?" 

Ron shook his head. "I agree on the Gringotts part, but I think we should get the wands next." 

"Hmm." Hermione considered this, rubbing her chin with her wand, which she'd gotten into the habit of doing. She, Ron, and Harry had all gotten into the habit of carrying around their wands wherever they went. "Let's go to Gringotts first, then we can go get wands. But then we _will_ go to get robes." Hermione had gotten into the habit, also, of using a stern voice whenever she told Ron to do something. 

She watched as Ron's lips curled slightly on one side. "Fine. And _then,_ we go and get the books. Can't do anything without books." 

"And then the cauldron." 

"Agreed. Wait! And then ice cream." 

Hermione smiled. "Agreed. But we'll have to hurry. I want to get back to Hogwarts and check on Harry." 

"Oh, come _on,_ Hermione. Voldemort hasn't shown up in quite a long time. What makes you think he'd show up in the middle of Diagon Alley?" Ron paused as he saw Hermione glance at James and Lily, who were only half paying attention. He understood now. They'd talked about it with Harry. About why they needed to hurry to get James and Lily to safety. What better time to kill them than when they can't defend themselves against magic? Wizards and witches from all over had said that Voldemort hadn't used his full power, yet it had taken his full power for him to possess his own body. Everyone's theory was that Voldemort had expected Harry to beat him again and had taken precautions, using as little as his power as possible to try and kill the Potters. Ron, Hermione, and Harry thought that he was waiting for another time to show himself at his full power, a time when it would do some good. Besides, having witnesses wouldn't bother Voldemort. He'd kill as many people as he could in front of millions of people without even thinking of it. "Then again, I _do_ have to get ready for the new school year." Hermione looked at him gratefully. 

The adults led the way through the crowded streets. Ron noticed that more and more people were starting to look at himself and Hermione, and then to the two children. He felt someone tug on the sleeve of his robe, which he had donned while Hermione had put the spell on them to get them here. He turned and looked down, to where Lily was looking at him with those big, green eyes of hers. He kneeled so he could look her eye to eye. "Yes?" 

"May we take Brownie and Poison out, Ron? Or do you think people might be scared?" 

Ron smiled to himself. He liked the way Lily said his name. He could tell that she tried not to put any extra accent on it, say it as if it were a casual thing to do and as if she did it all the time, but she always failed and ended up putting the most accent on his name. 

"No, I don't think they'd be scared. Animals are a common thing to see here." 

Lily nodded, smiling, and then she said something that Ron couldn't understand. He saw the spider that had bitten him poke her head out from under Lily's mop of uncontrollable hair. Without thinking, he drew back. He hated spiders. Absolutely _hated_ them. He watched as the spider crawled up Lily's neck, across her cheek, and finally settled on her nose. She giggled and looked at him. "Don't worry. She won't bite you." 

Ron shook his head. "It's not that. I'm just not a big fan of spiders. I, uh, had a problem with them when I was young." 

Lily nodded and said something that sounded as if she was whispering quietly to herself, but she was staring cross-eyed at the spider the entire time. There was a pause before she looked up at Ron again, grinning. The spider looked at him, seemed to wave one of her front arms at him, and then turned away from him. "She says that she won't even look at you, if it helps. She also said that you should be ashamed for being afraid of spiders. She says it your own fault for upsetting one if you get bit. She always says things like that." 

The reply made Ron grin. "She always gives you advice like that? So, I guess she's kind of the motherly type, hmm?" 

Lily nodded as they walked, looking around her all the time. "Yeah. My favorite is, 'In the name of Athena, girl,' and then she says something else that almost always changes. But that's when she's in a bad mood; mostly she says things like, 'This is better than having a bird destroy your new web." She doesn't mean that though. She just says it. I guess it's a spider's sense of sarcasm." 

"Huh," Ron said, not sure what else to say. He'd never seen someone so close to a spider before. 

Later, as he entered the bank, James noticed that something was different about this bank. He looked for the reason and saw that the tellers were so short that they needed the windows to be pulled down a bit. He looked a bit harder at the bank tellers. No, that wasn't brown hair on their heads, those _were_ their heads. "Um, Ron? What's wrong with the tellers?" 

Ron looked in the direction of the tellers, confused about what James was talking about. What was different about the tellers? He didn't see anything wrong. Suddenly, Ron laughed as he realized what was wrong. "No, no. They're goblins. Hermione says that muggles only have them in stories." 

"Ron is from a wizarding family," Hermione explained. "I'm muggle-born. I have to tell him everything about muggles. It's because he never he took muggle studies when he was in school." 

Ron shot her a quick grin, saying, "Shouldn't we show them the main attraction?" 

"Oh course!" a stunned Hermione replied. "That's what we came here for, anyway." 

Ron shrugged and shoved James and Lily in the backs to get them going a bit. They were looking around at the marble and the people and the goblins in awe. Ron led them to a teller's window and greeted the goblin. "Hey, Pete." 

The goblin looked up from his papers, grinning. "Hey, Ron! When's the next Poder game?" 

"That's _Poker,_ Pete," Hermione corrected him. 

"Oh, yeah. Right." It suddenly occurred to Pete to look down to where James and Lily were watching him in fascination through the slot. Both had green eyes, uncontrollable black hair... They reminded him of- But surely not. He watched as one of James's bangs started to slide. Before the boy could brush it back, Pete had seen the lightning-shaped scar. "For Pete's sake!" he practically shouted. James and Lily quickly pretended to be fascinated by the white marble instead as their faces began to look slightly red. Pete looked at Ron and Hermione with his eyes as wide as they could go. "Surely these aren't-" he looked around hastily. He didn't want the other tellers to get _these_ clients, no sirree. He leaned in closer to the window, making James and Lily move their faces away slightly. "Surely these aren't the _Potters?_" he asked Ron incredulously in a harsh whisper. 

Lily felt the goblin's warm breath completely cover her face. It was a nice kind of warm, though. One that she didn't really mind. She felt Brownie crawl over her cheek, muttering something about saunas. 

Pete saw the freckle on the girl's nose move across her cheek and under her hair. "What was _that?_" he asked her. 

"Brownie." 

"What's Brownie?" 

"She's a spider. My pet spider." 

Pete thought about this as Ron and Hermione looked at each other. Pete had heard a lot of things about the Potters. Harry and his parents, James and Lily, had caused quite an uproar, and now these two, the other James and Lily. He'd heard that Harry Potter could talk to snakes. What if- "Can you talk to that spider?" Pete asked slowly. 

"Yes." 

"Pete," Hermione interrupted. "Sorry to uh, well... We're kind of in a hurry. If we could save the conversation for later, please." 

Pete nodded hastily. "Right away, Ms. Granger." 

"Hermione." 

"Huh?" 

"Her name's Hermione," James said again. 

Hermione patted him on his back. "It's okay if he calls me Ms. Granger. Actually, with his kind, I think I'd prefer it." 

"What do you mean, his kind?" Lily asked her. 

Pete snickered as he came around the counter, carrying a heavy set of keys in his hand. "She means that I'm not the best of my kind. You see those other goblins there?" He pointed to the other tellers, who were all pointing at him and finding some way to act rude. Lily nodded, looking at them but not daring to look into their eyes. "They're the older goblins. We call 'em 'The Elders.' I know, it may not seem mean to you, being a child and all. All the adults for you are elders. But with goblins, see, we're going through a transformation. A _revolution,_" he corrected himself, sending a quick glance at Hermione, who was pursing her lips. "We've changed. See? I'm not nearly as proper as the Elders. We aren't really that friendly." 

"Then how come you work here?" Lily asked. 

Pete shrugged. "My Elder Dad gave me the job. Said he might as well- until they get someone else, that is. Goblins around here aren't necessarily pleased, but they have to put up with it." He grinned sadly at her. "That's the proper thing to do." 

Right then, they went through what appeared to be a huge vault in the wall. Hermione and Ron went straight through. Lily looked at James, who raised his head and walked through. She looked at him. He hadn't said anything to her. Not a word. She couldn't believe it. He could obviously tell that she was- um. Kind of scared, and yet he went right on trying to be brave and act as if he knew everything, and he didn't even take the time to say something comforting to her! She angrily went through the door behind him, hoping that it was dark so that if her eyes watered, no one would see. Quietly, She told Brownie what he had done. 

_That's men for you, girl. Here today, gone as soon as their_ famous. 

_Yes, but I suppose I'm just as famous, aren't I? And _I'm_ not acting like that._

_Yes, girl. But that's because you're a girl. He's a boy. There's a strong difference._

_How so?_

_How should I know? That's just how it is. Do me a favor. If you see another spider, tell him to say hi to me. I'm getting lonely without any other spiders around._

_Yeah, me too. Now that James isn't around to. Remember Jellyweb and Butterhold from home?_

Brownie laughed. _How could I forget? Jellyweb's webs were always to thick and slippery, and Butterhold couldn't keep his eight legs on a beetle!_

Hermione looked at Lily, who was smiling in the dark. Or at least, Hermione _thought _she was smiling. The light in the elevator was awful, and they hadn't even started yet. Lily seemed to be whispering, and every now and then, she'd giggle. She seemed to be doing okay. Hermione shifted her gaze to James, who was peering into all the nooks and gaps in the wall he could find. 

"What's up?" she asked him. 

"Nothing. Just thinking. So is this the only bank? Is this the best one? Or what? Poison keeps saying that there are other snakes around, but they don't seem to be nice ones." 

Ron grinned. "That's because those aren't snakes. Those are dragons." 

"_Dragons?_" both children shouted, snapping their heads to attention. 

"Yep," Pete said happily. He pressed a button, and the elevator started moving downwards. He shouted above the screeching sound of the air rushing past them. "Gringotts has never had anything stolen from it. The dragons help out with that a lot. They breath fire, and I guess that discourages people." The elevator took a quick swerve to the right, then took to more turns at other angles in other directions. 

Nearby, James heard something hiss, _Are you bad? Are you evil? Are you coming to sssteal? Huh? Are you? Are you?_

He shook his head as Poison muttered, _Over-anxiousss reptile. Giving usss all a bad name._

Pete finished his talk with a toothy grin, "Can't understand why, though." 

The elevator suddenly came to a sudden stop. Lily came crashing down to the ground. She'd been so light and the elevator had been going to fast that she'd been floating, almost. She grinned at Hermione and Ron, who were coming to help her up. "I'm fine. That was fun, too. Can we do it again?" 

Ron laughed. Hermione had to send him one of her prized glares to get him to stop. "I guess I ought to hold onto you next time," Ron told Lily. "Just to make sure you don't go all the way to the ceiling." 

Pete opened the vault for them. "For Pete's sake! That's all you two've got? I thought the Potters had a fortune!" 

Hermione cleared her throat, signaling Pete to shut up. "Their father gave them this for the school supplies. That should be all they'll need for now." 

"Ah, yeah. Smart, I guess." Pete waited until Ron had emptied the safe, pouring all the money into a huge pocket in his robe, before he closed it. 

"Anywhere else?" he asked Ron and Hermione. 

Hermione shook her head while Ron nodded. "Yeah, I want to go to your vault to get all of those IOUs you owe me." 

Pete looked quickly at the control panel. "Darn. I would, but it looks like that part of the bank is under construction." 

Ron grinned at the back of Pete's head. 

When they exited the bank, they headed up the street, to where Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions was located. "I guess they don't believe in fashion at school," Lily muttered. Hermione heard her and laughed. 

"Ron? Why don't you go with James. I'll stick with Lily." 

Ron nodded, not really caring what the plans were, for he was describing the game of Quidditch to James. 

When they went into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions store, an old woman greeted them. "Hello, Ron, Hermione." She saw James and Lily. James was looking around, trying to hide the fact that he was surprised by everything and by the plump short woman. Lily, on the other hand, had already decided that she liked this lady and was grinning at her. "Well, well, well. Look at that! I've waited for years to have the Potter children come in here again. They look so much like their father!" 

Lily blinked and let her grin grow. James looked at the lady, slightly surprised and showing it. No one had ever said to him that he looked like his father. 

"Well, come on. We'll get you two into some robes. Going to Hogwarts, I'll bet." 

The two nodded. 

"Hermione, you might want to dig around in the ready made for her. I think I have something that a child outgrew before they could wear it on the racks somewhere. A size... one, I think. I'll have to measure the boy, though." 

James snickered at Lily. A one! And he had to get measured, too. Boy, he never would have thought that there were so many differences between them. She was always so... excited about everything. Not at all like himself. He could let it sink in and deal with it, but Lily was always asking questions about everything she saw. It was beginning to get tiring. He was glad for an excuse to be away from her for a while. After all, they hadn't been apart for years. Come to think of it, sometimes, she got on his nerves a lot. 

Hermione took Lily aside, and the two wandered over to the racks with the robes hanging up. "So do you like your brother?" she finally asked. 

"Yeah, sure." Lily paused. She'd answered automatically. Was that a good sign? She was used to the two of them being together, being able to read the other's mind. That was how she wanted it. But earlier in the bank... And then the way he'd snickered at her just now... He was acting so... Different. "Well, I guess he's okay, for a brother and all." Lily thought that was a pretty good answer. After all, she'd overheard tons of kids at school talking about how much they hated their siblings. 

"But..." 

Lily fidgeted quietly. _Should I tell her?_ she asked Brownie. 

_You might as well. I think we can trust her. And if we can't..._ Lily felt Brownie tug on a strand of hair on the back of her neck with her fangs. 

"He's just acting different. But then again, how could he not be? I mean, just yesterday, we found out we were getting letters to go to a wizarding school, and now we're here, doing all of this stuff that we'd never dreamed we'd ever do, seeing all of this amazing stuff... How could he not change the slightest bit?" 

Hermione raised her eyebrows. James's character had changed more than "the slightest bit." Lily went back to looking through the racks as Brownie crept back to the center of her nose. Lily managed a weak smile as Hermione said, "It doesn't look like you've changed that much, though." 

"Well, maybe we just haven't noticed. Maybe it's such a small change that no one really noticed." 

"But your brother's was big enough to notice," Hermione accused. 

Lily looked back to the robes. 

Hermione stood there for a while, watching her as Lily tried to do anything that would keep her from looking into Hermione's eyes. Hermione could tell that deep down, Lily knew that she was lying to herself about her brother. Her excuses were awfully lame. It was as if Lily was trying to call attention to the fact that her brother _was_ changed, and the fact was that she simply didn't want to face the truth of it. Hermione sighed and used her wand to pull out a dark black robe that looked almost as if it were new. The robe floated in the air and twirled slightly in the air. "I think I found you a one." 

Lily looked at the robe, watching it swirl in the air gracefully with small pockets of air from the open windows to make the cloth ruffle and billow out a bit. As Hermione watched her, she concluded for sure that this was not the look of someone changed by their surroundings. Lily was watching the robe as it stayed suspended in the air with that same look of awe and amazement that Hermione had seen so much since that morning. 

"Why don't you try it on?" Hermione suggested. 

"Do you think I should?" 

"Well, of course," Hermione said, managing a small laugh. "That's what they're here for, after all. To be tried on. Here." She muttered a word under her breath and the robe fell into Lily's waiting arms. "Now go on. The dressing rooms are over there." 

"Thank you." Lily dashed off in the direction Hermione had pointed. 

A few moments later, after Hermione had thoroughly disgusted herself with running through the changes in James's attitude, and Harry's well being, the plans she still had to make for her classes, and all the other things she still had to do, she spotted someone else walk into the door. Actually, there were four people. "Neville!" Hermione cried out. She raced up to him and threw her arms around him, glad to see him again. "Are you all right?" she said, after nearly knocking him over. "I haven't seen you in so long, though. And it's so good to see you again, really. How's your back?" 

Neville, his blush plastered on his face as if his head were a tomato, played with his wand, running it through his fingers and turning it over, a habit he'd gotten into when he was embarrassed or nervous. "It's fine." Neville looked up, smiling bashfully at Hermione. "And this," he said, waving his wand to the woman next to him, "is Hannah and her son, Doug. He's going to be another first year at Hogwarts this year." 

"Really? Well, hello, Hannah. Hello, Doug." Hermione shook hands with them enthusiastically. Neville had come back to Hogwarts every year to visit, and Hermione, Harry, and Ron had finally gotten him to go with them to visit Hagrid, the groundskeeper at Hogwarts, also someone Neville had always been a bit afraid of. Neville hadn't been the richest wizard in all the world, barely making enough money for himself and his daughter, Becky, to live. Hagrid had offered him a job to help him as groundskeeper, and she, Ron, and Harry had persuaded him to take it. Last year, though, he'd tried to lift something that was too heavy and had hurt his back badly. Madam Pomfrey hadn't let him get up and move around in a long time. Neville had been trying to meet people for a long time now, and Hermione hoped that she hadn't ruined his chances with Hannah by running up to him and hugging him like that. 

Hannah moved the slightest bit and gave the girl behind her a slight push forward. Rebecca, always shy, scooted up a few inches and stuck out her hand to her for Hermione to shake. 

"My word!" Hermione exclaimed. "Don't tell me that this is Becky!" Gently, Hermione tucked her fingers under Becky's chin and raised it so that Becky would look up at her. Becky did so and saw Hermione's toothy smile. Hermione had done this ever since the moment they'd met, and it seemed to work well. The girl offered a slight smile of her own, a bit of her shyness already dropping away. 

"Hello, Professor Granger," she said softly. Becky sent a quick glance to the boy, Doug, as an explanation. She was one of the few others who had permission to call Hermione by her first name- but only in private. 

"A new student is trying on robes in the back. Do you think you could check on her? After you've gotten your own, of course." 

Becky nodded slowly. Shy as she was, she was always willing to help and could always be counted on to do so. She walked away from the adults and Doug quickly. 

"You might want to follow her," Hermione told Doug. "She'll show you to Madam Malkin, and then Madam Malkin will get you measured for your new robes." 

Doug nodded and trotted off to catch up with Becky. 

"So you're a professor?" Hannah asked as soon as the children were out of sight. 

"Yes. I teach the transfiguration class." 

"She's an animagus," Neville said proudly. 

"What's that?" 

Hermione hid a smile. Hannah was obviously a muggle. Brave of her, though, to come into the wizarding world on her own. "An animagus is a person who can turn into an animal." 

"It's very complex magic," Neville added. "Only a few can do that." 

"I can become a cat, but that's all." Neville always had a habit of making a big deal out of it. 

Neville looked at Hannah and beamed. "Ron and Harry- I went to class with them, too- they're animagus, too. Harry can turn into a stag. And Ron can turn into an owl." 

"What can you do?" Hannah asked. 

Neville blushed again. "I don't really do deep magic." 

"He has a daughter to support, so we wouldn't let him," Hermione lied. "He wanted to, though. He wanted to fight Voldemort a lot, but we finally got him to change his mind." She grinned at Neville, who grinned back thankfully. 

"Oh. Well? What will the first years be doing at Hogwarts this year?" 

Hermione and Neville began to fill her in. Meanwhile, James was being fitted for the robes. 

"My," Madam Malkin commented. "You aren't much bigger than a one. Smaller than a two, though." 

"Will it cost any extra to have it measured and especially fit?" James asked. 

Madam Malkin threw her head back and laughed. James managed a small smile. He was pretty sure that was a no. Madam Malkin supported his thoughts when she got her breath back. "Goodness gracious, no. This will cost just as much as the other robes. All school robes for Hogwarts are the same price." 

James nodded, slightly relieved. 

Ron sat in a chair nearby, reading a newspaper. James read the headline: "The Daily Prophet." 

"What's that about?" he asked. 

Ron jumped slightly, for he had been immersed in an article about warnings for the Dark Arts. "What?" he asked, still slightly taken aback. 

"That newspaper you're reading. What's it about?" 

Ron breathed a sigh. "It's a newspaper about all the things that go on in the wizarding world. A lot of people get it. If you get the chance, maybe you could use some of that money your dad gave you to subscribe." 

"I'll think about it," James lied. He wasn't thinking about a newspaper; he was thinking about the freedom he could get here. A whole world of wizards, and he was one of them. He could get away from the Dursleys... He could _live_ here. He could spend his money on things like magic tricks and candy, but he wasn't going to spend his money on little things such as newspapers. 

Madam Malkin came, carrying a box full of measuring tape and scissors and cloth. She began measuring him, talking about things such as what she'd heard the first year was like, what the weather was like, how to do things at school. All the while, James stood with his hands straight out from his sides, standing as tall as he could until he doubted he could take it anymore. He didn't seem to notice that the measuring tape was doing the measuring on its own. 

Finally, some action besides Madam Malkin's cheerful, one-sided conversations and Ron's newspaper reading happened. A boy walked in. He was about the same size as James, with dark brown eyes and neatly combed brown hair. 

"Hey," he said, holding out his hand close enough to James's so he could shake it. "I'm Doug. Who are you?" 

"I'm James Potter." 

Ron looked up at him but didn't say anything. Neither of boys noticed that nor the way Madam Malkin pursed her lips. 

"Nice to meet you. Are you Madam Malkin, ma'am?" 

Madam Malkin managed to hide her frown and smile. "Yes I am. But you can call me simply Madam Malkin. The ma'am isn't necessary." 

Doug smiled, slightly abashed and muttered an apology. 

"If you'd kindly wait over there next to Professor Weasley, please, until I finish measuring this young man." 

"You're a Professor? Neat! What do you teach?" Doug went over to occupy the seat next to Ron, and the two of them eased into a deep conversation about magic and school. 

James rolled his eyes. So the kid hadn't known who he was. Maybe James was thinking that he was so famous, he automatically thought everyone he met would know who he was. He had apparently been mistaken. That wasn't a big deal, was it? After all, James had been in the background all his life. It wasn't too bad. But he still wanted to be a _bit_ recognized. After all, Ron and Hermione had said that he was famous. Surely they wouldn't have lied to them. James moved just a bit to move his bangs out of his eyes. His hair was growing too long again. Oh, well. He'd just get a haircut. In the meantime, though, he'd just tell people his first name. There wasn't any sense in diving in before he knew anything about what was going on, after all. 

In the other dressing room, Lily looked up as a girl, exactly her height, came into the room. "Hi," she said, smiling brightly. "I'm Lily. Who're you?" 

The girl hesitated slightly. She'd recognized the black hair, the green eyes, the way the bangs were covering the forehead... For a minute, she had thought that this girl, whoever it was, was Headmaster Potter. But Harry was a boy, so that took that idea right off the list. Still, the similarities were amazing. "Hi. I'm Becky. Becky Longbottom." 

"Longbottom?" Lily echoed, smiling slightly. For a second, Becky was afraid she'd laugh, but instead, Lily held out her hand for the girl to shake. 

"Are you a first year too?" 

"Yeah. Except I've lived at Hogwarts for two or three years now. My dad works there." Becky paused. "What's your last name?" 

"Potter. Why?" 

"No reason. Just curious." No, the two couldn't possibly be related. Harry would have let something slip by now. She'd known him for so long. 

"Ah." Lily tried to tie the robe's ropes around her waist again. "I don't think I'll ever work this out," she muttered. 

_I can't believe this. I've practically taught you since the cradle, and you can't even tie ropes right._ Brownie tutted at her. 

_I'd like to see you try this,_ Lily snapped back. 

Becky stood still as stone and cocked her head slightly. What had that been? She'd heard Lily mutter, but that last part... Could it be Parseltongue? Harry could do that. Maybe they were related. Becky gathered up all her nerve and looked the girl in the eye. "What was that?" she asked. 

Lily looked up at her and remembered suddenly that she and Brownie weren't the only ones in the room. "That? Um, Pro- Hermione and Ron say that it's something called Areanatu, some sort of language of the spiders or something." 

"You mean you can actually _talk_ to spiders?" Becky asked, incredulous. She'd only heard tales of such things. 

"Uh-huh. Hermione and Ron say that no one has been around who can talk to spiders in two hundred years." 

"Yeah, I was always told that it was pretty rare. I always tried it, though. It's fun." 

"Want to try it with Brownie?" 

"Huh?" 

Lily stared at the freckle-like spot on her nose. "Brownie is my pet spider. She'll try- if she likes you." 

Becky stared hard at the dot on Lily's nose and realized that it was, truly, in the shape of a spider. She looked closer. "Isn't that one poisonous?" 

"I think so. She doesn't bite often, though. And she never kills anyone. Not on purpose, anyway. She bit Ron yesterday." 

"Ron! You're kidding!" Becky giggled. She and Ron played a game where they often tried to beat each other at different things. Put-downs, jeering, and insults were included. And unless Becky was mistaken, this counted as ammo. 

Becky pulled on her robe over her head, thinking about the chances she'd have talking to a spider. It was a possibility that it would bite her, even if Lily had promised that it wouldn't. On the other hand, spiders had to be threatened, didn't they? She tied her ropes as she'd seen the kids who went to Hogwarts do. Maybe she could at least try. 

She looked over at Lily, who was trying time and time again to tie her robe correctly. "Need help?" she asked. 

Lily looked at her gratefully. "Thank you." 

Becky walked the few steps it took to reach her and took the ropes. She hastily managed to untie the knot Lily had managed to turn the rope into. 

You see that? Brownie asked Lily. That is someone who was born with spider in her. 

Lily giggled. 

Becky looked up at her, searching Lily's face for any sign of oncoming insult, but she saw only innocent giggling. "What is it?" 

"Brownie. She says that you have spider blood in you." 

"Spiders don't have blood. They have an open circulation system." 

"Oh, I didn't mean that. She says that you're someone who has spider in you. I thought that meant blood." 

Becky shook her head slowly. She finished tying the knot and tested it. "You should keep it a bit loose, that's what the older kids always say. And then you just stick your wand in your robe and you're ready to go." 

"Thanks. Want to try to talk Areanatu now?" 

"Not right now. We have to make sure these fit first." 

Together they stood in front of the mirror and modeled off their new robes, making sure they were long enough in the right places. 

"Now you want to try?" 

"Sure." 

Lily and Becky sat down in the middle of the floor. Lily explained to Brownie what she wanted, and the spider grudgingly agreed to be set upon the floor for the lessons. 

"Okay," Becky said at last. "What now?" 

"I don't know. Say something. Whisper it. Try to imitate how I did." 

Becky obeyed. She whispered something, the sounds coming out cautiously. 

Brownie lifted her small body on her eight legs. _Tell her not to call me the fat father of a robin!_ she yelled at Lily. 

Lily fell over, laughing. 

"What did I say?" Becky asked, in a mixture of eagerness and fear in her voice. 

Between giggles, Lily said, "You called- her- a - fat father-" Becky gasped, "of a- robin!" Lily fell back down, laughing harder. 

Becky stared at her. But before she knew it, a small giggle escaped her lips. She had no clue that what she had called Brownie was bad, but Lily's laughter was contagious- and it was kind of funny. She giggled again. In no time at all, they were both rolling around on the floor, trying not to squash Brownie as they laughed so hard that their sides hurt. 

Hermione ran in. "What's wrong? What happened?" She was followed closely by Hannah and Neville. 

Lily stammered, "She called- Brownie-" she pointed to the spider in the middle of the floor so that Neville and Hannah could understand if they were able to make out the spider shape, "a fat- father of a- ROBIN!" She fell over on Becky, both of them in renewed fits of laughter. 

The adults failed to see what was so funny. A moment later, Ron and Madam Malkin came running, both with their wands raised. 

"What happened?" Ron shouted. Madam Malkin stood beside him and slightly behind, ready to support him if there was trouble. 

"Apparently these three have been taken by a joke," Hermione told him. "Not the crazy, hysterical, laughing kind, but pretty close. I think they'll be fine when they calm down." 

Already, Becky and Lily were wiping their eyes. They looked at one another and giggled, but they didn't fall over again. Hermione and Ron helped them get to their feet and then Hermione helped Lily find Brownie. 

Right as she was handing Brownie to Lily carefully, James and Doug came jogging up. "What's up with the shouting?" James asked, one part of his robe trailing behind him. 

"What kept you?" Lily and Becky asked. Lily was glaring at James much harder than Becky was glaring at Doug. 

"He got a pin stuck in his arm," Doug said, indicating James. 

"Yeah, we had to get it out before we came, or else I probably would have bled to death. Do you have a problem with that?" he spat at his sister. 

Lily considered. "No," she finally muttered. 

The room stood silent for quite a while. James and Lily looked away from each other and became interested in their shoes. From time to time, Lily would look at Becky, who was still glaring at Doug, who was returning an equal glare. Hannah was looking at the children thoughtfully. Neville was looking from the children to Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione were looking from James and Lily to each other, both slightly surprised and confused. Madam Malkin stared at all of them, making sure all of the cloths fit. She had a good idea what James's size was by now. 

In the main room, a high-pitched bell rang and echoed through the air. "I'll get it," Madam Malkin said. She left to take care of the new customer. 

"Well," Ron finally said, letting out a breath of air that he hadn't been aware he was holding. 

Everyone else in the room unconsciously let loose their breaths also. 

"I have an idea," Hermione said with fake enthusiasm. "James, Doug, why don't you two finish getting your robes fitted, and after that, we'll go out for ice cream. Sound good?" 

The children nodded without saying anything. James turned and left with Doug following closely behind him. Still without a word, everyone else followed and went into the main room. 

"Something tells me that this is going to be an interesting outing," Becky muttered to Lily. 

"It will be if all the kids hate each other," Lily answered. 

Twenty minutes later, they all found themselves seated in the warm air at the tables in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. The adults had all crowded around one table, talking about their own adult thoughts as James and Doug silently ate their ice cream trying not to look at each other, and Lily and Becky talked about the differences in the muggle and wizarding world. 

"I heard that you don't have owls in the muggle world. You know, to send messages to other people." 

"Well, we do have owls, but they don't send mail with them. We have mailmen, e-mail, and the telephone." 

"Mail_men?_ Do they fly?" 

Lily giggled. "Of course not. They drive around in trucks." 

"Oh, yeah. I remember trucks. Dad used to have a silver one. He wrecked it, though. And then we got a red one. He forgot to put the brake on with that one, and it rolled down the hill and crashed into a tree. Then he got this dark green one, but then we came to visit Harry, Ron, Hermione, Professor Malfoy, and all the others. He wrecked that one, too." 

"Who's Professor Malfoy?" 

"He's mean. He doesn't like Potters, either. I'd be careful with him. He teaches the potions class at Hogwarts. Hermione and Ron always warn me about going down there without someone else. I think they're afraid of him." 

"I don't think so. They don't seem like the easily scared types. After all, Hermione, Ron, and that Harry person you mentioned fought Voldemort. And Hermione says that he was the most evil, strongest warlock ever." 

Becky gaped. The silence at their table stretched until Lily looked up and saw Becky staring at her. "What?" Lily asked. 

"You said his name." 

"Whose name?" 

Becky squirmed a bit. "_His_ name. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." 

"Who? Voldemort? What's wrong with saying Voldemort?" 

Becky moaned a bit. "You never, _ever_ say his name. He's evil. It's evil." 

Lily sighed. "Fine." 

Hermione came up from behind them. "We need to get some wands. What do you say, Becky? Would you like to come with us?" 

Becky grinned. "And I need a pet, like an owl or something. Dad said we might have enough money this year. Can we stop by the menagerie too?" 

"Of course. And Lily, you might want to look, too. Who knows? You might find someone to write to this year. But you'll definitely have to write to Ron and me, so I think you'd better think about it, hmm?" 

Lily grinned. "Sure." 

The group set off, the adults leading the way. Lily and Becky were right behind them. James and Doug followed behind the girls. 

"I'm sick of this," James told Doug, finally ready to speak to the boy. "Why don't we do something else for a change?" 

"Like what?" Doug asked, obviously not wanting to. 

James pulled on his arm. "Come on," he muttered. He pulled harder until he led was leading Doug. Thankfully, Doug didn't cry out or anything like that. James took a turn onto a street where there were less people. Of course Doug looked back to where the adults and Lily and Becky were walking away, but he didn't do anything. He simply let James pull him along. 

They ran down streets until they were sure everything was the street they'd just left. Always, they took the street that had less people to hinder them as they ran. James stepped into another street and halted. The light had suddenly seemed to disappear. It hadn't faded away completely, but everything looked darker and a bit more sinister. Doug caught up with him, panting and laughing a bit at the same time. He stopped when he noticed the light and shivered. The air itself was cooler by degrees. Even James turned so as not to let Doug see that he shivered quickly. 

"Kn- Knockturn Alley," Doug stuttered, shaking freely now. 


	5. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 5

Disclaimer: Pretty much all of these characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The rarely found OTHER characters are mine. Copyright 2000 

Chapter Six

Knockturn Alley

"Oh, come on," James told him sharply. True, James didn't like this place, but he wasn't going to let it show as much as Doug did. After all, his dad had defeated the most powerful warlock ever, surely James could take on something like that. And this place was just that- a place. And places can't hurt you. Plus, he had Poison with him. 

_Poison,_ James said to his shirt. _You might want to wake up._

He heard an ugly hiss from around his stomach and knew that this was simply a snake's yawn. _Night already?_

_No. We might need help._

Doug was looking at him oddly. "What was that?" he asked, staring hard at James with wide, fearful eyes. 

James looked up at him, suddenly remembering that there was someone else here with him besides Poison. "Uh, Ron and Hermione said it was something called Parseltongue. They said it was the language of the snakes." 

"You can talk to _snakes?_" 

James nodded, smiling. "Isn't it neat?" 

"Weird is more like it. Creepy, even. I'm leaving." 

James grabbed his shirt sleeve. "No. We aren't leaving yet. We have to finish looking around here." 

"Do you _know_ who comes here? The Dark Lord himself, Voldemort. Just rumors, really," he added hastily as he saw an odd gleam come into James's eyes. "He probably won't be here today." 

"Come on." James started pulling him away. 

For a while, Doug struggled to get away from here and make a wild dash for the sunlight- even if some hag _did_ happen to turn him into a toad or dust. "But you don't understand," he continued to argue with James. "This is _Knockturn Alley._ All the evil witches and wizards come here. It's _dangerous._ Especially if we see Voldemort." 

James pulled him down another street, and Doug lost sight of the sunlight. He stopped struggling, convinced now that all hope had vanished along with those beautiful golden rays. 

James turned to him and said simply, "Cool." He looked behind them to where the barrier of light and dark, Diagon and Knockturn Alley, had been. "As long as we keep track of where we're going this time, and don't get lost, we should be fine." 

"Yeah, right," Doug muttered. "About as 'fine' as my mum's cooking, that is." 

He followed James slowly and silently. Once, he saw a small, short woman walk towards them. She had a stooped back, and you could tell her gray body was wrinkled, even under the dark clothes she wore. Her face was a mask of gray skin, bloodshot, beady eyes, scraggly gray hair, and small, tightly pursed, dried-out gray lips. He quickly pulled James and himself into a doorway. 

"Hey!" James hissed at him. "What's up with you?" 

"I told you before. This is _Knockturn Alley._ It's dangerous. You don't want to be seen. Unless, that is, you're looking for trouble," he added slowly. He already had a really bad feeling about this kid. He was just hoping that it wasn't about to get worse. 

"Fine. We won't be seen if you're such a coward." 

"I'm not a coward," Doug retorted, "I just want to live long enough to go to Hogwarts and turn twelve. I want to see the sunrise tomorrow, as a matter of fact. But I can't do that _if I'm dead._" 

James shrugged and waited for the hag to pass. When she had, he left the safety of the doorway and went out back out with Doug following him closely. 

They started going into places that were more crowded. Doug, lost in his world of thought, hadn't noticed this until it was too late. He looked to James with a glare that could have made something burst into flames. Then he noticed what James was doing. 

He was walking with a long, leisurely stride, as if he came here all the time. He held his back straight, head up, and he wasn't afraid to look at anyone in the eye. He looked as if he belonged here. Doug could hardly see any trace of the James he'd met in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions Shop. 

Immediately, Doug lifted his own head and straightened his back. He forced his breath to flow in and out evenly and tried hard not to walk too fast or walk too slowly. _Act like you belong,_ he ordered himself. 

Doug didn't see the table until it was too late. He was so concerned with making himself seem as if he belonged here that he walked straight into a table full of gruesome looking bat-raising kits and instruction manuals on torture. A few of the cages fell off the table. One or two broke and the bats flew out, squeaking joyfully at their freedom. The books and instruction manuals clamored to the ground. A few kits for experiments fell to the stone walkway, and Doug heard the high-pitched sound of glass breaking. 

"Oops." 

"'Oops!' That's all you have to say for yourself! You'd better pay for that, young man. Do you know how much this stuff costs?" the vendor shouted at him. 

Doug stood there, shaking. He felt something pull his sleeve so hard that the force of it almost made him fall over. Instead, he landed on his left foot, and with the force still pushing him along, he landed on the right. Then the left again. Before he knew it, he was full-out running with James leading the way. They started to laugh. 

The laughter didn't last that long, though. 

"Come back here, you two!" the vendor shouted. "You'd better pay for all of this!" 

Behind him, Doug heard a sizzling sound and then a loud BOOM! The trash can five feet away from him blew into the air, soaring as high as forty feet before it started to fall to the earth again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the trash can land with the loud sound of metal scraping against metal like a car crashing into another, It landed black with holes all over, bent and dented in several places. 

He heard another soft sizzle, heard it grow louder. 

He stopped laughing. Then he said it quietly, just loud enough for James to hear, "Run." He heard something whiz right past his ear. Doug began sprinting harder than he ever had before. When he began to pass James, James realized that he needed to go faster too. 

Together, they ran through the streets, zigzagging every chance they got. They could still hear the vendors behind them. "Come back here! Or I'll blow you to smithereens!" 

They kept running without pausing until their sides hurt. Only then did they begin to slow down. After a while, they were walking wearily along eerily silent streets. 

Doug waved to James to signal that they needed to stop. He wasn't as used to running as James was. James had gotten plenty of exercise trying to evade Shelton and his gang. "Do you- think it's- safe- now?" he panted, bending over so he could support himself by putting his hands on his knees. 

"I'm pretty sure- it is," James answered, tired, but not so tired that he had to lean over or pause that long. 

"Think we- can go- now?" 

"I'd think so. I didn't- know they'd- do that. Good thing- we ran. I can't believe- you knocked over- that table." 

Doug tried to shrug, and he whimpered when he realized how much his shoulders and arms hurt from pumping so much. "Let's just- get out- of here." 

James nodded. 

Doug's eyes widened as he saw something poke out of James's shirt. A green snake slithered out and dropped down to the ground. "Is that your- What is-" 

James grinned tiredly and wondered if he'd have to explain this all the time to everyone at school. "This is my pet snake. His name is Poison." 

"Poison? _Poison?_ You named your snake _Poison? Is_ it poisonous?" 

"No." 

"Oh." Now that he knew that, Doug didn't really mind. After all, It wasn't that big. What was the snake going to do? Drool on him till he died? 

Behind them, a long way in the distance, they heard, "Come back here and pay me and I might think twice before I blow you two kids up!" 

James and Doug looked at each other. Suddenly, James grinned. "He can't possibly find us. We're too far away." 

Doug shook his head slowly. "They have special detectors that hunt down wrongdoers. They aren't always right, though. There are so many people doing bad things that sometimes the trail gets messed up." 

"So we're left with two choices. Either we can risk it, and simply hope that he got a messed up trail so we can keep on exploring, or we can get out of here." 

"I say we get out of here." 

"Agreed." Suddenly, what he was saying changed into an odd hissing. Doug looked at him oddly. What was he telling that snake of his? He watched as the snake muttered something in return and crawled towards James. When the snake, Poison, was safely tucked away again under James's shirt, he looked back up to Doug. "Ready?" he asked. 

Doug nodded, doubtful whether to be thankful for the small chance he'd gotten to catch his breath, or to try to make it last as long as he could. 

The two got ready to run and turned. Without thinking twice, they ran straight forward, looking behind them and listening hard. 

WHAM! 

James bounced off of something hard. Impossible! There hadn't been a wall there! He was sure of it! Yet, his glasses fell off, and he heard them hit the ground with a heart-stopping thud. He heard the glass break. He looked in front of him, where he could see the blurry image of a huge man. It looked like he was wearing something dark. He started feeling around for his glasses, turning away from the figure. _Watch him,_ he muttered to Poison. He felt Poison obediently turn around and poke out of one of James's sleeves, watching the stranger. James saw a smaller shape, obviously Doug, stoop down and pick up something. Next thing he knew, he felt something being pressed into his palms. He heard Doug tell him, "They're broken in two and one lens is broken. They won't be much good at Hogwarts." 

The figure behind them roared. "Hogwarts students!" 

Poison started filling in for James. _The man looksss mad. He'sss coming. I think you might want to get up now._

_I don't think I could see enough to tell how,_ James muttered in reply. 

Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted by his shirt. "Hey!" he shouted. Beside him, he heard Doug yell the same thing, except James added, "Put me down, you big brute." 

"You two shouldn't be in Knockturn Alley," the figure snapped. "I'd've thought that kids these days had better sense." 

"It was my fault," James told him. "I dragged him here. He didn't want to come." He pointed to where he hoped Doug was. Or at least where a small blur moved every once in a while. "You can let him go." 

"A little to the right," Doug supplied. 

James moved his finger obediently. 

The figure didn't say anything. Instead, he simply started walking. The breeze his long stride created pushed aside some of James's bangs out of his eyes. "I'll say!" the figure exclaimed. "A Potter! I would'n 'ave thought that a Potter 'd be comin' down here! An' draggin' others into it, too!" The person shook the arm that was carrying the dangling James. 

_He looksss mad,_ Poison told him. 

_You don't say,_ James muttered dryly. 

They walked for what seemed like a short distance. Then, just as suddenly as he'd felt the coldness and emptiness of Knockturn Alley, he felt the heat and fullness of Diagon Alley. 

"Hermione! Ron!" the figure bellowed. "Look who I found in Knockturn Alley!" 

He dropped James and Doug. By now, James could make out the blurry image of his sister. He ran to her, stumbling at times without his glasses. When he finally did reach her, he threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. 

He heard his sister gasp for air, but she returned the hug. "Don't you ever, _ever,_ run off like that again," she snapped angrily at him. 

"Don't worry. I won't," James assured her. 

"Hagrid!" Hermione shouted in delight. Then she froze. "Where did you say you found them?" 

"Knockturn Alley," the figure, Hagrid, said gravely. "They looked like they was runnin' from something, too." 

Hermione put her hands on her hips. "Explain." She used the same tone she used when she told Ron to do something. James, still hugging Lily, helped Doug to explain what had happened, and he said that he was at fault completely. 

In the end, Hermione sighed. "Let me see your glasses," she ordered wearily. He handed the pieces to her, or what she thought was her, even though he noticed that she moved her hands farther to take them. "You and your father. Always breaking your glasses..." she muttered. She tapped the glasses with her wand and said a word. James then felt something pressed into his hands again and realized that they were actually his glasses. He put them on quickly and breathed a sigh a relief when he saw things he could identify again. "Of course, we'll have to speak to the Headmaster about this, and you may be punished, but you did tell the truth, at least." 

James nodded, still hugging Lily tightly. He was just glad to be back. Imagine! Here, wizards threw some sort of bombs at shoplifters! He didn't want to admit it, but that experience had actually shaken him up quite a bit. 

"You know," Ron said, "you might want to let go of each other soon. You two are turning blue." 

"Ron!" Hermione laughed. It seemed like everyone was back to themselves. "Oh!" she cried suddenly. "I almost forgot! Your birthday presents!" 

Lily and James let go at the same time. "Birthday presents? Is it our birthday?" James asked as he looked at her. 

"You don't know when your birthday is?" Becky practically shouted at him. "How can you not know-" Lily slapped her hand over her new friend's mouth until Becky calmed down. When she did, Lily removed her hand. "How could you _not_ know when your birthday is?" 

"The Dursleys never told us." 

"My word," Hermione breathed. "They were worse than we thought." 

Ron tightened his grip on his wand. "Dudley," he said violently. 

Neville looked slightly confused. "But muggles don't do that. Muggles- muggles-" 

"You should have taken muggle studies, Neville," Hermione sighed. She crossed her arms, as if she were in deep thought. 

"You don't know these muggles, Neville," Ron explained. "They're the worst you've ever seen. Worse than the worst muggles you've ever seen. Much worse." 

Hermione nodded in silent agreement. "We'll see what we can do later." She rubbed her chin with her wand again and then looked at her wand oddly. "Goodness!" she exclaimed. "We forgot the wands!" 

Ron raised his eyebrows. "Now how could that have happened?" he asked her. 

She shrugged. "Let's go get wands, your cauldron, phials, telescope, brass scales, and your pet for messages and such, and then we'll make some arrangements so the two of you can catch the Hogwarts Express tomorrow." 

"They can stay with us," Becky offered. "We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron for the night." 

Neville blushed and nodded. 

Hermione nodded gratefully. "I'd appreciate it," she told them. "Just to keep an eye on them. I'm sure they'll have enough money left for a room of their own. And they can pay for themselves, too," she added quickly. Neville nodded, trying to make sure he'd remember, while Becky nodded enthusiastically. "Now for the wands." 

The renewed group and their new member set off. 

"This," Ron explained, "is Mr. Ollivander's shop. It's the best place to buy wands. That's where I got this one." He stuck out his wand to show to them. "A fourteen-inch long Yew with a unicorn's hair. And it's worked perfectly since I bought it in my third year!" 

"I brought yer dad 'ere too," Hagrid beamed at them. Hermione cast him a warning look and he looked away quickly. 

Hermione jumped in to change the subject. "Ollivander's has been here since 832 B.C." 

The two Potters gaped. "That's an awfully long time," James said slowly. "That's... 2,168 years." He looked at a single wand on a faded purple cushion. 

Hermione beamed at him. "Exactly. Well?" she asked, holding the door open for them. "What are you guys waiting for?" 

They stepped through the door and heard the distant sound of a bell from somewhere inside the shop. The store was narrow, with the walls covered from floor to ceiling with crevices. Lily looked inside one of them and found many sticks like Hermione and Ron's wands. All of the crevices must be full of wands! Hagrid stepped into the store before Hermione and fell into the single, moth-eaten chair with a slight crash. 

A short old man came running up instantly but stopped when he saw them. "Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Hagrid. Hello. And who might the rest of these people be?" 

Hermione instantly jumped up to take charge. Ron, looking thoughtful, let her and went on reading his paper. Hagrid looked at her, sighed contentedly, and sank deeper into the chair. 

"Mr. Ollivander, this young woman is Hannah, a, uh, _friend_ of Neville's. This is his daughter, Becky. Hannah's son, Doug. And these two-" 

"-Are the Potters," Mr. Ollivander said simply. "They have all the marks. The hair, the eyes, and the," he swept Lily's bangs off of her forehead for a second before dropping them back into place, "scar. I've waited many years for another of them to walk into this place." 

He began walking along the wall, looking into the crevices from time to time. "Now, when your father came in, we wasted plenty of time. Too much, in my opinion, especially since four of you now need wands. So-" He stuck his hand into a crevice and pulled out two wands. "Try these. Wave them around with your wand hand." 

"Wand hand?" 

"Yes, you know, you're- Hmm. Your father asked the same thing. What hand do you write with?" 

"Uh, right." 

Mr. Ollivander shoved a wand into her right hand. "Try that one. Holly and phoenix feather. Eleven inches. Nice and supple." 

She waved it, almost feeling as if the wand were moving on its own. She looked to Mr. Ollivander, who was looking at Hermione. He looked back at her and nodded thoughtfully. 

He held the other one out to James. He took it and waved it around, feeling like an idiot. 

Mr. Ollivander nodded again and then turned to Becky and Doug. 

Within a few moments, after trying out a few wands each, Becky and Doug found their own wands. Becky's was a twelve inch maple with a unicorn hair, and Doug got a thirteen inch oak with a dragon's heart string. 

After they left Ollivander's, James fell into step with Doug. He was still sorry for the Knockturn Alley incident, but not half as sorry as he had been before Mr. Ollivander had recognized him. "Did you see the guys eyes?" he asked. 

Doug scowled and waved his wand a bit. "I wasn't really concentrating on the guy's eyes," he said stiffly. 

James ignored his tone. "There were silver- like moons, only creepier." 

"So?" 

James shrugged. "Just thought that I'd mention it." 

"Why don't you go talk to your sister?" Doug asked rudely. 

James looked ahead to where Lily and Becky were talking and waving their wands about happily. He didn't understand why, but he didn't want to talk to his sister anymore. 

During the next hour, they finished up their shopping, and the adults and Becky led the way to the Leaky Cauldron. He kissed Hannah goodnight, and during this sickening moment, Becky tried not to blanche and throw up all over the ground. Then, to her relief, Hannah and Doug walked off. She breathed a sigh of relief when she could no longer see either of them. Hagrid thundered off a few minutes after that, and Hermione and Ron disappeared in a cloud of smoke after waving good-bye to them. 

They got two rooms at the Leaky Cauldron. Becky and Lily shared a room, while Neville and James shared the other. 

Becky went to bed directly after dinner. Lily, however, was too excited to sleep. Instead, she sat in a large chair near the fire and read through her books. During breaks to rest her eyes and drink a butter beer, which Tom, the landlord, provided for her, she noticed that she could remember most of what she read. By morning, she'd read her books for Transfiguration, Potions, and A History of Magic. For her trip to Hogwarts, she set aside her books for Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms. 

* * *

"And they're at the Leaky Cauldron right now?" Harry stood looking out the window, staring at the Forbidden Forest. His scar was beginning to sting, not too badly, but just enough to let him know that trouble was coming. 

"Yes," Ron said stiffly. He briefly remembered what Harry had used to be like. But now, Harry had grown up, and he was always worrying about Voldemort and Hogwarts, and what had happened to everyone around him. When Neville had hurt himself, Ron had nearly imagined that Harry might put up charms all over the school, and there were enough as it was. 

"What?" Harry asked sharply. He knew what Ron was thinking of. He knew how much they all missed the days when they were simply students, and life could be simply an adventure. But now they were grown up, and they all had responsibilities, and Voldemort was their worst threat right then, and all Harry really cared about were James and Lily. Was it such a sin to want his own children to be safe? 

Hermione jumped up. "Harry, we know it's hard on you, but why must you keep them in the dark? They're bound to find out you're their father eventually. Not knowing could be a weakness, Harry. Are you really-" 

"Hermione," he answered quietly, "all I care about right now is that they get here safely. We can deal with the rest later." 

"Right." 


	6. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 6

Disclaimer: Most of these characters- you know who they are- belong to J.K. Rowling. The rest are mine. Copyright 2000. 

Chapter Seven

Welcome To Hogwarts

Although she had never been on a train ride before, she was certain that this had to be the oddest train flight that anyone had ever taken. Beside her was her new pet owl, Orion, was sitting in his cage, both of which were presents from Ron and Hermione. Becky had gotten an owl, too, and she had named hers Aldwin, and Doug had named his owl Wendelyn. 

Lily looked out the window at the countryside floating under her. She could see houses rushing past through the scattered clouds. There were only three of them in the compartment- herself, Becky, and Doug. Doug and Becky were sitting across from each other, and whatever they said had started an argument. Lily had finally given up on trying to make polite conversation after James had left with a somewhat mean-looking bunch. 

Someone ran through the corridor and doubled back to open their door. It was a boy with bright blond hair neatly combed and parted. He seemed to have a slight problem with saying his R's. "Hey, some kid's down tha. Everybody's saying that his name's James Potta o somethin'. Do you-" He saw Lily, who quickly smoothed down her bangs quickly. 

"Hey, you-" 

"She what?" Becky interjected. She knew what attention Lily might get at Hogwarts, but she also knew that Lily didn't want that attention. 

"Hey, you can't be Lily Potta, by any chance, could you?" 

"What's it to you?" Doug asked. 

"Hey, I'm jus' saying that if-" 

Becky cut in again. "Go and stare at James. He's the one to be goggled at." 

Without saying a word, and looking slightly surprised, the boy left. 

"I think you might get a lot of that at Hogwarts," Becky warned Lily. Lily nodded silently. "But don't worry. The way James is acting, people will be talking mostly about him. You might get to have a normal life there" 

Lily nodded. The thought didn't make her feel any better. Maybe James would still talk to her sometimes. He hadn't said a word to her since yesterday. If that was the price of a normal life, she didn't want any piece of it. 

Becky kept trying to make conversation. "I hope I'm not in Slytherin. I kind of want to be in Gryffindor. That's where my dad went when he went to school here. But then again, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are okay." 

"Are those the houses?" Doug asked. 

Lily turned to them and asked, "What houses?" 

Becky started to explain. "The students who go to Hogwarts are split up into four houses- that's where we stay and study. We'll be classmates with the other first years in our house. Gryffindor is for the daring, brave, chivalrous people. Hufflepuffs are just, loyal, and patient, hard workers. Ravenclaws are wise and want to learn. And then the Slytherins are for the misfits. But the polite way of saying that is 'They go to any means to achieve their ends.'" 

"I think I'll be in Gryffindor. I mean, I did go into Knockturn Alley and come out alive," Doug said dreamily. He'd been bragging about that lately, and when he told the tale now, it seemed that he purposely threw the table over on the owner just for the fun of it and then had flown expertly on a broomstick, dodging laser rays from the owner's wand, with James cowering behind the trash cans. Lily hadn't made any comments, but James, when he'd heard part where he had been hiding behind the trash cans, and given Doug a perfectly round and nicely colored black eye. Neville had gotten rid of it after about two minutes, but Doug said it still stung a bit. 

"What house do you think you'll be in?" Becky asked Lily. 

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. I mean, I'm not that brave, but then again, I've never had anyone to be loyal to, and, even though I get good marks in school, I don't know if I'm that wise. And I don't really want that much that I can get by any means." 

"You're a Potter," Becky said. "You'll probably be in Gryffindor." 

"How do you know?" 

"Well, your dad-" 

"Who?" 

"Your dad." 

"My dad was in Gryffindor?" Had Becky mentioned that in the conversation already? Lily strictly instructed herself to pay more attention in the future. 

"Yeah." 

Lily was silent for a few moments, as was Becky, who was wondering if she should tell Lily about Harry- if Harry was in fact her dad. If Ron and Hermione hadn't told her, they probably had a good reason for it, but then again, Lily deserved to know. She made up her mind to ask Ron and Hermione as soon as she could, but in the meantime, she'd have to stall for time. 

"Well, in that case, I hope I'm in Gryffindor." 

"Good choice," Becky commended her. "Hey, Doug. Tell us the story about the Knockturn Alley incident again. We'll tell you if all the changes fit together." 

Doug smiled good-naturedly and began to tell his story all over, with Becky and Lily interrupting at parts to tell him what didn't fit, or to congratulate him on a part he'd just added. 

* * *

The trio stood on the train platform along with the rest of the crowd of children from the train, standing with their owls in their cages, which were clutched tightly in the children's hands. Everyone was in their black Hogwarts robes and carrying their things. Lily, looking around, could tell the first years from the older children by the amount of nervousness shown. The first years were either sticking to older siblings as if they were barnacles, or they had found other first years, and the group of them were sticking to each other like barnacles. She spotted James far off, trying to seem macho as usual lately, but she could tell that he was slightly afraid. He was standing with a somewhat mean-looking bunch. 

"Firs' years, over here!" 

A grin appeared on Becky's face and rapidly spread into a full-grown smile. "That's Hagrid," she told them. "We met him in Knockturn Alley, remember? I can't wait to see him again!" 

Lily and Doug followed as Becky led the way into a wave of other first years. "Maybe we can go to his cabin this year. I used to go over all the time for tea and things. I'll ask him" she said again. "His house isn't the greatest, I know, but it's nice in its own way, even if it does take a bit of getting used to. Harry told me that once, he and Hermione had to help him get rid of a dragon he was taking care of. He said that the cottage has never been the same ever since. I swear, Hagrid wouldn't harm a fly. Dad says that one time, he even cared for a spider that, at the time, was rumored to be killing people." 

Lily, thinking Brownie would be glad to hear about other spiders in the area, repeated this to her. Her response, however, was not one she had hoped for. 

_He did not!_ Brownie responded vehemently. _Aragog never killed a_ single _person! The whole spider population knows that! Aragog's a hero, and nothing less, mind! All the spiders owe Hagrid a lot of gratitude!_

Lily let Brownie rant on as she looked around, carefully trying to keep up with Doug and Becky. She accidentally bumped into someone. "Sorry," she said. 

The boy who'd bumped into her turned. Lily's heart soared as she realized it was James, and she silently prayed for at least a single word of acknowledgment. Instead, he looked at her, seemed momentarily surprised, and then said, "Oh. It's _you._" 

Lily listened to the sound of her heart falling from its highest perch right onto the concrete so far down below. 

Ahead, she realized that they had approached a large black lake that had boats pulled up to the shore, bobbing slightly in the water. But the thing that mostly captured her attention was the vision beyond the lake- the building(s) with all the lights and turrets. The lights slanted across the water towards them, stretching to meet the boats and welcome them. Lily noticed that although it was velvety dark in the sky with no moon (but a few stars), she could still see the outline of the place perfectly. That must be Hogwarts, she decided right before Hagrid told them all so a moment later. Lily decided that it was beautiful and magical all on its own, and she momentarily forgot James and his group. 

"Four to a boat," Hagrid called out. James went away with his own crowd, laughing. Lily wouldn't have been at all surprised to find that they were laughing at her, which didn't help her mood at all. She clamored into a boat with Doug and Becky, and the three made their owls as comfortable as possible on the seats beside them. A few seconds later, the boy who hadn't been able to say his R's climbed in with them, looking away from them with a small, pinched mouth and sorrowful-looking eyes. As he climbed in, he set his own owl's cage next to him. Lily almost felt sorry for the boy. 

"Hi," she said. "I'm Lily." 

The boy looked at her with narrowed eyes. She almost thought she could read his mind for a few seconds, so clearly could she hear him thinking, _Aha, I knew it._

Becky, with a slightly disappointed sigh in Lily, gave in. "I'm Becky." 

Doug stuck his hand out. "I'm Doug." 

The boy considered them for a few moments and shook Doug's hand. "I'm Soup. Tommy Soup, actually, but evwybody calls me Soup." 

"Like... Tomato Soup?" Doug asked with a slight smile. 

Soup moved a bit on his bench uncomfortably. "Yeah," he muttered, obviously not liking the nickname. 

Doug apologized. "Sorry, but- Well, you know." 

Soup nodded. "I know. My pawents wen't good speakas, and my mom was usually, uh, dwunk. I guess I got the accent fwom haw." 

Lily nodded. "I'd look out for my brother, James. He's..." 

"Changed," Becky supplied. 

"Exactly," Lily agreed. "You'd be an open target for him, I must admit." 

"And for anybody," Doug added. 

Soup looked down at his hands. "He already did. Yah bwather, James, I mean." 

"I'm sorry," Lily said, truly meaning it. 

"Oh, you shouldn't be. He's the one that should be sawy." 

"Yeah, but he is my brother, even if I am-" she cut herself off in what she considered to be the nick of time. 

"Even if you are getting to the point where you're ashamed to say that," Becky finished for her. Apparently she hadn't been in the nick of time as much as she had thought. 

"Everyone here?" Hagrid shouted. "All firs' years. All right, then. FORWARD!" 

The boats began to float steadily towards the mystical Hogwarts. 

"Well, if you want," Doug said slowly, "you can hang with us." 

Becky glared at him, then thought twice and smiled at Soup. Lily was already grinning at the way Soup's face immediately lit up. 

"Thanks!" 

The boats pulled ashore and Hagrid got out of his boat first. Obediently, all the first years followed him in a tight, silent group as they walked slowly down the dirt path. Hagrid finally stopped in front of a large door and knocked loudly three times. 

* * *

"We're off to another year at Hogwarts," Ron said slowly. 

"Yep. Just another year," Harry agreed. He ducked and looked straight ahead as Ron caught him craning his neck to get a look at the first years. "I've been thinking," he admitted. 

"Now that's a miracle if I ever heard of one," Ron said dryly. 

Harry ignored his tone. Instead, he switched what he'd really been thinking to another thing he'd been worrying about. "What if one of them is placed in Slytherin? I mean, I don't mind Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw that much, but _Slytherin?_" 

"Right. And what if Quidditch is outlawed in the wizarding world tomorrow?" 

Harry laughed slightly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Nothing to worry about." Except what he was really thinking... 

Meanwhile, Ron looked at his watch. "Hermione's late! Now that really is a mira- Oh wait a second." He tapped the watch's face and watched as the hands began to move again. "Never mind." 

Harry smiled as he watched Hermione walk into the great hall to open the door. He heard her voice a few moments later, her "teaching voice," he and Ron called it, as she rehearsed the speech she'd heard from Professor McGonagall. "Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet..." 


	7. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 7

Disclaimer: Most of these characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The rest are mine. Copyright 2000. 

Chapter Eight 

Taes Teliot

"-will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be assorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. Your will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. 

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has its produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. 

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. 

"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." And with that, Hermione disappeared, pleased with herself for getting every word right. 

"Like I had to hear that again," Becky muttered. "Exactly the same speech, every year. Not that I would know," she said quickly. "I've, uh, never been to one of these things." 

Soup examined her face steadily. "You mean that you awen't allowed to come to these." 

"Basically." 

"Hey, Tomato, get out of the way." James and a pale boy shouldered their way into the group and left, laughing. 

"If he weren't your brother," Becky said slowly. 

"I- _We_ would kill him," Doug joined in. 

Lily didn't say anything. 

Saving the day, Hermione came back through the doors. "Time to come in." After she had arranged everyone in a line, she led them through the doors. 

Lily's breath was caught in her throat, and she momentarily felt as if she might be choking. The Great Hall was huge, larger than she had ever imagined. All over, there were thousands and thousands of glittering candles that evaporated the shadows. With a start, Lily realized the candles were floating in midair. Two boys at a table were trying to see how fast they could spin a set of floating candlesticks. There were four large tables where the students were sitting, laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. Hermione led them to the front of the room in front of another long table with adults, obviously teachers, sitting at it. Lily had a brief glimpse of Ron sitting next to a man with black hair and bright, anxious green eyes. Before she could get a better look, Lily turned to face the rest of the hall like all the other students. It seemed, to her at least, that everyone seemed to be staring at them. Of course, everyone was, but she couldn't tell if they were looking at her or not. To avoid having to look at them anymore and find out that they were, in fact, staring at her, she looked up. 

"Becky, look!" she whispered excitedly. There wasn't any ceiling; the room opened up directly to the clear night sky. 

"Oh, that," Becky said as she looked up. Wasn't she worried about what would happen if it rained? "My dad said it's spelled so that the ceiling reflects the weather outside." 

"Oh." So there _was_ a ceiling. Lily felt better now. 

Hermione stepped forward and silently placed a stool in front of the first years. The man with the black hair and green eyes handed her a hat which she placed on the stool. Lily looked closely at the hat. It could use a good cleaning, she decided. Her eyes noticed the worn look about it, the patches, and the amount of dirt and dust that seemed to be attracted to it. What was the point of having that poor hat in this beautiful place? Hermione took a few steps back and watched the hat; she seemed to be waiting for something. 

The hat, odd as it might seem, moved- gave a little twitch. Then a rip formed near the brim, a rip which reminded Lily somewhat of a mouth. And then, the hat actually began to sing: 

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

Becky and the older children, joined by the teachers, applauded. The hat bowed to each table, and then, seemingly, to Becky as a few other first years- including Lily- clapped nervously. Then, the hat straightened and became still again. 

"Now then," Hermione began. "When I call out your name, you will sit on the stool and put on the hat so you can be sorted." 

Lily sighed. "I hope I'm in Gryffindor," she told Becky and Doug again. 

Soup nodded. "I just want to be somewha wha my accent won't be made fun of too much." 

Lily pursed her lips and thought how selfish she was being. Soup was much worse off than she was. He'd been made fun of all his life for the way he spoke, and she had only been shunned by her brother for two days, and even then, she had friends like Becky, Doug, and Soup himself. 

"Well, we won't make fun of you," she said. Soup grinned. 

"I just hope that I'm not in the same house as James," Doug said. 

"Second that," Becky agreed. "No offense," she told Lily. 

"None taken." 

"Abbot, Linda," Hermione called out. 

A blond girl went up to the hat and set it on her head, more or less confidently. She sat on the stool and waited, the hat covering most of her head. 

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted. Linda went off to the Hufflepuff table, where its members were calling her over. 

"Adams, Daniel." 

"RAVENCLAW!" 

"Bass, Susan." 

"HUFFLEPUFF!" She went to join Linda. 

The list went on. Lily waited nervously as the line became smaller. A boy named Michael Clark became the first Gryffindor, and a girl named Marcie Crumble became the first Slytherin. 

"Gilmore, Douglas." 

Doug stepped forward and gave a slight smile to both Ron and Hermione, who smiled back. He tried on the hat. Everyone in the hall waited quietly. "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat finally shouted. Doug, grinning yet still looking slightly nervous, took the hat off and handed it to Glass, Amy before setting off to the Gryffindor table. 

The line kept thinning. "Longbottom, Rebecca." 

Although Becky nearly gagged at Hermione saying her name, (Hermione apologized with one of her looks), she went to take the hat. It didn't take long before the hat shouted out "GRYFFINDOR!" 

Becky turned to wave to her dad as she walked off. Neville seemed to be having the loudest cheering spasm Lily had ever heard. Hagrid was trying to get him to shut up. 

"Potter, James." 

Lily sighed as many children craned their necks to see her brother. Instantly, she heard a flood of whispers bouncing off the walls. She could have sworn that a coat of armor nearly fell off its pedestal, but the light in that corner wasn't good enough for her to tell for sure. Ron and Hermione had said they were well-known, but she wished they weren't _this_ well-known. 

James went up, slightly nervous (as Lily was for some reason glad to see), and set the hat on his head as he sat on the stool. The Hall waited. The seconds kept going on, then the minutes started to drag. Lily's heart caught in her throat. If the hat was having so much trouble placing her brother, where would it place _her?_ Or, far worse, what if it didn't put her in any house, and they shipped her back to the Dursleys as if this were all a mistake? 

Finally the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" James grinned and went to join his friends at the Slytherin table. Lily looked at Hermione, who seemed to have had a heart attack. She turned to look at the teachers' table, where Ron and the man next to him were also looking terribly white. A pale man on the far end was grinning nastily, and it was obvious that he was trying not to laugh out loud. The other teachers, including Neville and Hagrid, who were sitting with them, were all looking stunned and confused. 

Hermione finally cleared her throat (which she seemed to be having quite some trouble with) and said slowly, "Potter, Lily." 

Lily walked up to the stool. She suddenly felt slightly woozy. Everyone else seemed to think it was horrible, James being placed in Slytherin. Would it be bad if she were placed there too? Would she end up in Gryffindor like her father? Maybe the hat had forgotten to mention a house for people who were completely lost and confused. 

Now, she could see through blurry stars kids craning their necks to see her also, and she could here people saying, "Both of them!" and "No one mentioned that Lily Potter was here," and someone voiced what she was thinking, "I can't believe James Potter is in Slytherin! What about his dad? I wonder if Lily Potter will be there too." 

She sat on the stool and gratefully put on the hat. Good, it not only covered her eyes, but most of her face as well. 

Suddenly, she heard a small voice whisper into her ear, "Lily Potter, hmm? My, not so difficult as your brother, thankfully. Don't worry about him, he's just in Slytherin temporarily. Now, then, let's see. A thirst to prove yourself- your father had that also. Powerful. Very. And a brilliant mind. Memorized all those books, did you? That's good. It will most surely help you. Would you rather Gryffindor or Slytherin?" 

_Gryffindor!_ Lily nearly shouted. 

"Away from your brother?" 

_With my friends,_ Lily corrected. She couldn't believe she preferred Gryffindor to her brother. 

"Very well, then. You'll be in GRYFFINDOR!" 

Before she took off the hat, she heard Hermione's relieved sigh, along with Ron's, and over half the people's in the Great Hall. She took the hat and placed it on the stool, brushing off a bit of dust as she did so. As she turned to walk to the Gryffindor table, she caught the man's eyes, the man next to Ron. Her scar began to tingle pleasantly, giving her a warm feeling. She frowned for a second, wondering about why her scar was doing this, deciding she liked it, and then thinking that her eyes were like that man's. She smiled at him- later on she believed that it had been one of her idiotic smiles. Nevertheless, he smiled back. 

She walked over to the table and sat down next to Becky and Doug. 

"Becky? Who's that guy next to Ron?" 

"Headmaster Potter. Harry Potter." 

Lily froze, thinking things over. _Like there's much to think about,_ she told herself sternly. Things in her mind were just now beginning to connect. She remembered her dream. "Harry!" someone in the dream had shouted. Harry Potter. Of course! 

"Becky? In Diagon Alley, Ron and Hermione said that my dad was still alive." She paused thoughtfully. 

"Yeah? So?" Doug prompted her. Becky glared at him. 

"I think I know who my dad is." 

"Who?" 

"Headmaster Potter." 

Becky let out an excited sigh. "I wanted to tell you about him, and how weird it is that you have so much in common and everything, but I figured if Ron and Hermione hadn't told you- And besides, you figured it out on your own, so now I can tell you pretty much anything, right?" 

Lily nodded thoughtfully, trying not to seem too eager as she did so. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before." 

Lily shook her head. "Don't bother. You're right. If Ron and Hermione didn't tell me, there's a reason for it." 

Doug shrugged. "Maybe they forgot." 

"Hermione doesn't forget," Becky said firmly. 

Doug cut her off. "Soup's up." 

Becky shut her mouth as Soup walked up to the stool nervously. He picked up the hat and grinned at them before it fell over his eyes. A few seconds later, the hat shouted out "GRYFFINDOR!" 

Lily, Doug, and Becky jumped up, cheering. Soup blushed as he took off the hat and placed it back on the stool. 

"Hey, do the wave," Doug told the girls. 

Lily laughed. Becky, however, asked, "What's the wave?" 

"Well, it's-" Doug paused, trying to find the right words. "Like this. Watch us." He nodded to Lily and lifted his arms, bringing them down quickly. She did the same a second behind him. "Now you try," he told Becky. Becky became the third, but after twenty seconds, they decided they looked insane with only two people doing it correctly. Even Soup grinned when he saw them, trying not to laugh. 

"Thanks, guys," he said to them when he sat down next to Becky. 

"No problem," said Lily. "We, uh, enjoyed making ourselves look like idiots." She grinned at him and ignored the Slytherins, including her brother, who were pointing and laughing at them. 

When the Sorting Ceremony was over, Headmaster Potter stood up. "As always, I have announcements to make." A few kids groaned; Headmaster Potter grinned. "As always, the Forbidden Forest is off-limits, hence the _Forbidden_ part in the name. Second, last year, we had a few incidents involving blown-up toilets." His eyes rested on a pair of older boys at the Gryffindor table while Ron chuckled and Hermione looked stern. "No magic in the hallways. Quidditch trials are in the second week of the term. If you are interested in playing for your house, see Professor Wood. Thank you." At this, people at all the tables began to whisper and talk. 

"Harry used to be the greatest Seeker in the world," Becky explained. 

"What's a Seeker? And what's Quidditch?" Lily asked. 

Becky started filling her in. "You should try out. You'd be a great Seeker, probably. But they won't let first-years have their own brooms." 

"Why not?" 

"Well, safety reasons, I guess. We need to learn how to fly a broom first." 

"That's a pretty good reason." 

"Won't you two ever shut up and eat?" Doug asked, exasperated. 

Lily looked up and saw that the plates that had been empty a few moments ago were now piled high with food. "This is what I call living," she muttered as she grabbed a bit of everything. 

"So you're Lily Potter, huh?" Lily looked up to see the two boys Harry had been talking to looking at her. They looked exactly identical- not to mention the fact that they looked a little like Ron. 

"Yes." 

"I'm Chris, and this is Kevin." 

"These are the Weasley twins, Ron's nephews," Becky explained. 

"She pretty much took the words right out of our mouths," Kevin said. 

Lily grinned. "Blown-up toilet toilets, huh?" 

Chris shrugged. "It's really just the seat." 

"Our dad taught us how," Kevin added. 

"We have a whole collection at home." 

Lily looked at Becky, who nodded. "That isn't the only thing they collect." 

Chris shook his head, grinning, as Kevin explained, "We also collect gum, which we put ever so carefully in the tin men's joints so they can't move." 

"Who are the tin men?" Doug asked, who was listening closely. Soup nodded, but Lily got the feeling he didn't like to talk that much. 

"Every metal figurine in this place that moves," Chris explained, beating Becky to it. He grinned at her. Lily didn't try to mention the coat of armor behind them, which was now standing stock still innocently. 

"We also put rats in the girls' dorms. But we won't put any in yours, seeing as how someone in there would tell." Kevin stared directly at Becky, who smiled sweetly in return. 

They chatted for a while as they ate, and eventually, the food disappeared and desserts seemed to appear before their eyes. 

"All right!" Kevin said, grabbing a large piece of chocolate cake. A second later, another piece took its place, making the cake whole again. 

Lily surveyed the room. At the teachers table, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were discussing something deeply. Harry looked up at her, and her scar started to become warm again. She smiled widely at him. He smiled back and looked to the Slytherin table briefly before entering the discussion with Ron and Hermione again. Lily had a feeling that he was trying not to look at her. _There has to be a good reason,_ she reminded herself. 

She looked at the Slytherin table, where James was talking to a ghost dressed in black, billowing robes marked with what looked like silver blood stains. The eyes were devoid of any life, not to mention the emotionless face. She got the shivers just from looking at him. How could James stand to talk to that- that _abomination?_

Becky elbowed her in the arm, more or less gently. "Hello, earth to Lily. Come in, Lily." 

"What?" 

"Where have you been?" 

"I was just thinking. Why? What happened?" 

"We decided about ten minutes ago to head up to the Gryffindor tower so we could get some sleep," Doug told her. 

"Oh. Okay." Lily wasn't really that hungry anymore anyway. 

Becky looked at her with a concerned look, as did the guys, but as she got up and walked with them, Becky started to bicker with the twins, and Doug paid close attention to the conversation, as he often did to everything, and Soup dropped back with Lily. 

"What weh you thinking about?" 

Lily considered this. How could she really explain to any of her new friends what she was thinking? "You know, I knew this friend once who had the same problem you have. The trick is that whenever you say your R's, your tongue has to touch the roof of your mouth." 

"Okay." Soup started watching his feet when he wasn't watching the things around him. 

Hoping to change the subject, and also hoping she hadn't hurt his feelings, Lily asked, "Are you looking forward to riding broomsticks?" 

Soup brightened. "Definitely. It'll be like all of those old tales about witches flying in fwont of the moon on Halloween and stuff." 

"Except you can't do that," one of the twins said quickly. 

"Why not?" Soup asked. Lily nodded in agreement. 

"Because. We can't let the muggles see us, that's why," Chris said sharply. 

"Why?" 

Chris looked at Kevin. "Too many questions." 

"First years," Kevin responded, trying to sound exhausted, but the smile he had on his face suggested otherwise. "If muggles knew we existed, they'd want us to do all this stuff for them. Like love potions." 

"Hexes." 

"Jinxes." 

"Spells." 

"Curses." 

"Mischief making." 

"Bewitching things to act weird." 

"And the such. Not only that, but some people are afraid of magic." 

"The Dursleys," Lily said sourly, even a bit sadly. 

"Hey, you're at Hogwarts now," Becky told her. "It'll be fun." 

By then, they were in front of a portrait of a large, ample-bodied woman. Becky had told her about the portraits on the Hogwarts Express, but she was still a bit surprised to see the woman actually move. 

"Teas teliot," Kevin said. He turned to grin at them as the portrait swung open. "It took us a while, but we finally tricked them into using that as a password. It's 'toilet seat' spelled backwards." 

* * *

This wasn't at all going the way he'd hoped. The way he'd seen it, both of them would be in Gryffindor, and both would be happy. Instead, they were separated. Even worse, James was in _Slytherin._ Draco Malfoy would never let him hear the end of this one. Not only that, but Lily. Every time he looked at her, and their eyes met, his scar would start to tingle. He kept it well covered with his hair out of habit. The problem was, what if Lily's scar did the same thing? Did she know? Becky wouldn't have told her. He had enough faith in the Longbottoms to trust them just as he trusted Hagrid- except Neville didn't need drinks. But Lily would see the resemblance; she had to. James, however, (and as much as he hated to admit it) was too blind to notice Harry unless James got into trouble. Being in Slytherin, he had no doubt it would be soon. 

In the meantime, Harry was sick and tired of pacing in his study. Ron and Hermione had left what seemed like ages ago. Harry looked out the window and was once again amazed that it wasn't dawn. 

Carefully, he reached for the Sorting Hat. Dumbledore, or better yet, his ghost, was vacationing in the Bahamas, but he had retired, and Harry had gotten the job. That included possession of the hat, and Dumbledore had given him Fawkes as a birthday present. 

Harry put the Sorting Hat on. 

"Oh, you again," said the now familiar voice in his ear. 

_Yes, it's me. Tell me, please, why you put my son in Slytherin._ Harry was careful to be polite, especially with the hat. If he said anything rude, Hermione would punish him severely, and even though he was a greater wizard than her and was headmaster, he still feared her wrath. 

"It's only temporary. Now, then. About your daughter, Lily. She really wants-" 

Harry took the hat off gently, but at the same time curtly. He didn't want to talk about James or Lily right now. He didn't want to think about Slytherin and Gryffindor. He didn't want to see Malfoy, or worry about his scar, and most of all, he didn't want to worry Voldemort. 

Suddenly, Harry felt very sleepy, and he decided it would take too much energy to walk to his bed. He fell asleep right where he was. 

Silently, Fawkes flew over and looked from the hat to Harry; then he looked out the window. Why was it that he could see the enchantment, see that Voldemort was in their mists, and everyone else refused to see it? Too bad, Fawkes thought in his own way, that his tears couldn't heal the insides. 


	8. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 8

Most of these characters belong to J.K. Rowling- the rest are mine. Copyright 2000. 

Chapter Nine

Spiders And Malfoy

Apparently, Becky's idea of fun was different from Lily's by a long shot. It wasn't that she didn't like her first week of Hogwarts. Actually, she rather enjoyed it. But she would have liked it a lot more it Becky hadn't waited until the fifth time they got lost on the way to the dungeons for Professor Malfoy's class that she pointed out Hogwarts had one hundred forty-two staircases, and that the chances were minuscule that they'd find the right one on their first trip to the dungeons. She had to explain a number of times to them that she had never gone to the dungeons because she had been warned not to. The first day, they found she had been warned rightly. 

Besides that, Lily, Doug, and Soup stuck to Becky like glue until they started to find their own ways around, which wasn't easy. The portraits were always moving, usually to visit some other portrait. Lily made quite good friends with many of them as she, Soup, and Doug asked for directions. Lily always made sure that the spiders left the portraits alone. 

Speaking of the spiders, they were truly a nightmare. James had acted so snobby that even the snakes had refused to talk to him- except Poison. Lily, however, was beginning to believe that she had a deficiency where she couldn't help but be nice. She wouldn't have minded talking to the spiders from time to time, or having them visit every now and then, but they most often visited her during her classes. Not just one or two, either, but whole groups of them. It seemed that the spiders were so excited about having a human to talk to that spiders from miles around were making some sort of pilgrimage. Lily tried hard to keep them out of the way during Ron's class. 

The quartet discovered on their second day the poltergeist named Peeves, and they also found that his name suited him. Sure, what Peeves did was almost funny when he did it to someone else, but when it actually happens to you, you take a different view towards it. 

On Monday, their first class was Transfiguration. Becky led them all safely to Hermione's classroom without getting lost, pointing out things that didn't move which they could use as landmarks. Thankfully, Peeves had apparently gone off to torment Mrs. Norris, the pet cat of Mr. Filch, the caretaker. The poltergeist seemed to be having trouble tormenting the cat and owner since the two had become ghosts themselves. 

Hermione waited until the first years had entered and promptly made a lecture. "I want all of you to know that Transfiguration will be very dangerous. There are several rules which you must learn to respect, or else I will have no other choice but to send you out of this classroom and make sure you don't come back. Is that understood?" 

All the students nodded their heads sullenly. Just then, a pair of first years ran through the door and quickly grabbed two seats in the back. 

"What happened to you two?" asked Hermione. 

"We got lost," one of the girls mumbled. Lily recognized her as one of the Gryffindor first years from her dorm, Mandy. "Honestly," Mandy continued, "doesn't anything in this place stand still?" 

Hermione sighed. "All right. Just get an earlier start tomorrow until you find your way, and no, nothing I have ever seen in this place stands still." 

Many of the first years groaned. Becky chuckled. 

Hermione smiled. "Don't worry too much. You get used to it with time. And many of the ghosts and portraits are often happy to help. Simply remember to ask politely. Oh, and there are three doors on the third floor. The first one has to be tickled right on the top if you want it to open. The second needs to be asked politely three times. If it doesn't open by then, simply tickle the wood next to the knob. The third one won't open no matter how hard you try. The wall there likes to pretend sometimes." 

Renewed groans echoed throughout the classroom. 

Hermione grinned briefly and then decided she needed to get to business. "First, on everyone's desk is a match. We'll be turning it into a needle today, hopefully. Not all of you are expected to get this right on the first try, so no pressure." 

Halfway through the lesson, when Lily's match had become a metallic color and one end was pointy, Brownie crawled up on her desk. 

_My, my_, she said slowly. _The other spiders have told me about this class. We won't be coming to this one- They're afraid that woman will turn them all into robins. Disgusting creatures. But we will all be coming to see you in your Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everyone can't wait to meet you. Did you hear about James's snakes? They all left. They're in the Forbidden Forest now, poor things. They couldn't stand your brother or Poison. Oh, and speaking of the Forbidden Forest, I'm going there sometime soon. Would you like to join me? _

I'd like to, but we aren't allowed to go to the Forbidden Forest. 

"What are you doing?" another first year boy, named Will, asked. 

"Nothing," Lily muttered. Except it came out as Areanatu. 

Will shrugged, then jumped slightly. "Hey, there's a spider on your desk." He pulled his leg up and started pulling off his shoe. Before she could stop him, he was bringing his shoe down on her desk as Brownie simply stood there. 

"NO!" Lily shouted, grabbing his wrist. As he stared at her, his shoe dropped out of his fingers, heading straight for Brownie. Lily gasped. Then, as she watched, the shoe veered off its course and fell over the edge of her desk harmlessly. She'd read in her books that witches and wizards could use raw magic without spells or wands, but that had been the first time she remembered actually working any magic like that. 

Brownie just then started to walk away. _I knew you'd be good for something one day, she told Lily. Glad to see your using your magic wisely. See you in your Defense class._

Lily sighed and sat down again. With a slight start, she realized the entire class was staring at her. 

"Are you feeling all right, Lily?" Hermione asked, obviously concerned. 

Lily nodded. "Yes, it's just that Will was about to squash Brownie." 

"_Brownie_? It was a spider. On her desk, too." 

"She wasn't just a spider," Lily said, slightly irritated. "She's a friend." 

Hermione sat on the edge of someone's desk, thinking. 

"Wait a minute," the girl next to Mandy, named was Erica, said. "Can you talk to spiders? Like your brother can talk to that snake?" 

Lily nodded. She realized she had the entire class's attention, just as Hermione realized it. 

"What did Brownie say?" Hermione asked. 

"She said that the other spiders wanted to meet me and that they were coming in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, because that's the only one where they won't be changed into robins." Lily suddenly jumped out of her seat. "Wait a minute! Doesn't Ron teach that class? He hates spiders!" 

Hermione had realized this before Lily had, however, and Hermione was now rolling on the ground, laughing hysterically. She sat up and giggled a bit. "Too bad you can't call them off." She started laughing again. 

Lily frowned and started working. 

"Does this mean that spiders will be nesting in our dorm?" Abby, the last Gryffindor first year girl, asked. 

"If you don't want them to, I'll ask them, but I can't make them promise not to." 

"That's okay. I like spiders. They're cool." 

Lily raised her eyebrows as many other kids agreed, some looking at others first. They actually liked spiders here? Maybe it wasn't so bad after all. 

"They also said that, well, you all know James, right?" They nodded. Hermione stopped laughing. "And you all know how he can talk to snakes?" They all nodded again. "Well, all of the snakes except Poison have left. They're all in the Forbidden Forest now." 

Becky shouted with delight. "That makes my dad's job easier," she told them. "He always has to get snakes' bodies out of the owlery. But if the owls can't find them, he'll have a few hours off. Plus, it serves James right." 

Many of the kids who had already met James nodded in agreement. Lily didn't mind that much. She was beginning to feel the same way. 

At the end of Transfiguration, Hermione was once again chuckling- along with the rest of the class- but everyone knew that no one would be telling Ron- as long as they kept Lily away from him. Lily was the only one who had successfully changed her match into a needle- all five of them. The rest of the class had all come fairly close. Hermione smiled widely. 

"I see we have a very bright class. Five points for each match that looks, even remotely, like a needle," she said at the end of the lesson. "We might be able to get two lessons in a day if we keep on like this." 

"Will that mean more on the exams?" Doug asked. 

Hermione grinned but didn't answer. 

After this, they had forty-five minutes before their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. During that period, many of the first years told the older Gryffindors, who in turn told their friends from other houses. Everyone successfully kept Lily away from Ron so she couldn't tell him, and they took Lily to eat something, carefully looking for spiders so she couldn't tell them anything. Ron, however, couldn't understand why Hermione started laughing every time they saw each other in the hall. Harry couldn't understand it, either. 

Rumors started leaping around in no time. One of the favorites was "I'll bet that the spiders wrap everything in a web and Professor Weasley won't be able to do a thing about it!" There was also, "I'll bet the spiders will wrap up Professor Weasley and hang him from the ceiling." 

The Weasley twins were obviously thinking this was more fun than Christmas. "Our own uncle," they told everyone. 

However, the actual class was much better than the rumors. 

Ron, glad to escape the people in the halls who were all staring at him and chuckling, and Hermione, who by now, with hearing the rumors, collapsed where she was in fits of laughter that brought tears to her eyes, sat down in his room fifteen minutes before the start of class. Looking up after collapsing in his chair, he saw all of the first year Gryffindors already there. He looked for Lily and Becky and saw them sitting in the back of the classroom. 

"Is everyone here?" he asked. If they were, they might as well simply get a start on the lesson. Odd how they were all here early and sitting at their desks silently. 

Several of them nodded. Lily looked apologetic, but, not wanting to act like he was favoring her, he wasn't looking at her at all. 

"All right. Everyone take out their books." He was surprised to see that they already had them on their desks. "Okay, then. Turn to page one. We'll be starting with griffins. Now then. All of you who have come from wizarding families probably know that in the presence of a griffin, you can't tell a lie. For witches and wizards, this can be a bit of a problem, since muggles can't find out we exist. Thankfully, there are things we can do to keep the griffins from affecting us. One way is by using charms- You'll have to talk to Professor Welts about that. But you can also..." 

Lily noticed something on the floor and heard Brownie say, _We're here. Every spider in Hogwarts._

Lily knocked her quill onto the floor and bent to pick it up so she could be closer to the crack Brownie was beginning to crawl out of. Areanatu carried a long way, but she didn't want anyone else to notice what she was doing. She knew perfectly well everyone didn't want her to call off the "joke" on Ron. 

_Stay there,_ she whispered. _Don't_- She felt something cover her mouth and turned to see Becky there, glaring at her and holding a hand over her mouth. 

Becky shook her head. 

Brownie, however, hadn't caught on. _What do you mean stay here? I have the entire spider population of Hogwarts here! We're coming in._

Lily watched as spiders ran through the crack like a wave, with Brownie sitting on her fallen quill and waving her arms triumphantly. Mandy turned to see what was happening and gasped; then the rest of the class, including Ron, turned to see what was going on, and everyone gasped. Ron jumped on his desk, but everyone was too busy watching the spiders as they climbed the furniture, walls, and ceiling. Some people were even covered with spiders. As soon as Becky let go, Lily commanded them to get off the people and sit somewhere else. 

The spiders started to talking all at once, all of them trying to get Lily's attention and introduce themselves. They all mentioned a few million times that they'd never had a _human_ to talk to before. 

The room started to get crowded as more and more spiders entered through cracks. The surge started moving towards Ron as he stared at them, horrified. 

Lily jumped up. _Stop!_ she shouted as loudly as she could. All the spiders froze. _Now_, Lily said as she realized she had everyone's- spiders' and humans' attention- _I know this is the safest place class for you to come and see me, but this isn't the best time. My teacher is afraid of spiders._

_Afraid of spiders!_ a few shouted. _Why is he afraid of spiders? We wouldn't hurt him unless he hurt us first!_ Many spiders turned to shake their fangs at Ron, who was pouring sweat and shaking horribly, the spiders thinking he had done something to one of them. 

_I don't know how, but he won't kill you. You will, however, give him a heart attack. He's a good person, and perhaps you could come to my house later on- Gryffindor- to visit. No one there is afraid of spiders. _

Hey! I know where Gryffindor is! shouted a spider. Lily grinned. He was obviously one of the younger ones. 

_We all know where the Gryffindor house is_, several spiders snapped back at him. 

Lily grinned as they started to agree and looked at Ron. "I'm sorry, Professor, really, I am. You see, Brownie came to me during Transfiguration, and said that they were coming in our Defense Against the Dark Arts class. By the time I realized you taught that class, it was too late. I tried to call it off, but I couldn't talk to the spiders, and I... couldn't get to you." 

Ron thought about this shakily. No wonder everyone had been watching him and laughing at him in the halls. And why Hermione- Ron was so mad at Hermione that he nearly snapped his wand in half. 

He looked at Lily, who was looking nervous. She was like Harry more than either of them knew. Harry wouldn't have come right out and said, "People were trying to keep me away from you and the spiders so I couldn't tell anyone" either. 

"It's okay, Ms. Potter. I think I understand. Um, but could you please call them off? They're a little... distracting." 

"Yes, sir." Lily told the spiders that Ron wanted them to leave so he could teach. 

Brownie walked onto her desk. _We don't want to leave_, she said firmly. _So we won't._

Lily told Ron with sigh. "I'm sorry, sir, but that's the bad thing about spiders. They won't do anything they don't want to do." 

Ron nodded. "Can't you make them?" 

Lily shook her head. "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't." 

The class waited while everyone thought of something. Ron and Lily tried to think of some way to get the spiders to leave while the rest of the class tried to think of some way to keep the spiders from leaving. 

Suddenly, the pale man Lily had seen at the teachers' table the night before crashed through the doorway, dragging the Weasley twins behind him. 

"That's Professor Malfoy," Becky whispered to Lily. Lily nodded. She could see why they had been warned not to go to see him alone. 

"Weasley- I mean, _Professor_ Weasley," was it just Lily, or had he said "professor" with just the slightest sneer? "What is the meaning of this?" 

"What is the meaning of what, Professor Malfoy?" 

"Nearly half of the students from Hogwarts are gathered in the hall outside your door!" 

"Oh, that. We were having an unexpected lesson today." Ron waving his wand, indicating all of the spiders that had covered the room in colors from black to brown with a few specks of white, red, and yellow. 

Malfoy looked at the colors and realized that they were caused by thousands- no, _millions_ of spiders. His jaw dropped. "That Potter girl, I suppose," he muttered to Ron. 

Ron simply glared at him. 

_Do me a favor_, Lily asked. Although she couldn't hear it, she could tell that the sound was carried around the room, although her whispering was only audible to Becky, Doug, and perhaps Soup and the first years in front of her. 

_What is it?_ Brownie asked. 

_A man just walked in. On your way out, could you please... I don't know... _

Attack him? Brownie offered hopefully. 

_Just don't kill him_, Lily ordered. She hadn't met Malfoy one on one, but she already didn't like him. And she definitely didn't appreciate the way he was talking to and looking at Ron. 

The surge of spiders moved as one. Ron jumped, but stood his ground, looking at Lily a bit fearfully. She winked at him and pointed at Malfoy. A nasty grin began to spread on Ron's face. Chris and Kevin stood, frozen to were they stood as they watched the spiders swarm towards them. They looked at each other uncertainly and then looked to Lily, who winked at them also. She pointed to Malfoy again. The twins grinned at each other and took a few steps to get as far away from Malfoy as they could. Kids were crowding the door, trying to see what was happening, and then quickly turning to run when they saw the spiders heading for them. Malfoy was frozen to the spot, a look of pure terror on his face. 

The spiders reached him and stopped as they surrounded him. After a few seconds, he started moving again, trying to stomp on the spiders. "NO!" Lily screamed. 

The spiders, however, had apparently expected this. 

_Don't worry_, Brownie told Lily. _He's tried to stomp them before._

The spiders, undaunted, started climbing up his leg- inside the robe and out. Malfoy started hopping around, batting uselessly at his robes. Lily began to notice thin, fine lines start to cover his robes, and Malfoy didn't seem able to move as much. Ron had fallen on the ground, much like Hermione, and was shaking with laughter. The twins were chuckling in between giving each other high fives and giving Lily the thumbs-up sign. A few kids were poking their heads through the door again. 

Malfoy danced/ran/hopped out of the classroom down the hall, yelling. The spiders were hot on his trail. Lily could hear them all laughing. Ron quickly followed him, chuckling, and knowing that he would have to stand up for Lily when Malfoy told his version of the story to Harry. 

Brownie had stayed on Lily's desk. _Thank you_, Lily told her. 

Brownie retorted, _Don't mention it. They haven't had this much fun in years. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go join the fun_, she said as she climbed down Lily's desk and across the floor. _Who knows? We might make this a tradition. Awful man, he is. I say once a week will do quite nicely. Maybe we'll get him in his sleep next time. Tie him to his bed. Athena knows why humans sleep on those things._

Lily chuckled. 

A few moments later, a bunch of Slytherins walked into the room. James was in the lead. He marched right up to Lily. 

"Why did you do that?" 

"What did I do?" Lily asked rudely. "It was the spiders, not me. They wanted to do that to him. He's awful." 

"No, he isn't. Professor Malfoy is great." 

Becky doubled over with laughter. 

"I hope they expel you," James spat out at Lily. "The next time you pull a stunt like that I'll-" 

"Sick Poison on her?" Becky cut in. "Brownie told us that all the snakes except Poison left because they couldn't stand you. Poison isn't even poisonous. He's a garter snake. Perfectly harmless." 

"He has a few tricks." 

"Yeah, like wrapping up around your ankle and refusing to let go. Or drooling on you. Hey, yeah, that's it. Poison could drown someone with his drool." 

"He doesn't have to take that from you!" a Slytherin shouted at her. 

Doug jumped up and stood and stood in front of James. "He has to take it if he doesn't get out of our faces." 

"POTTER!" 

Lily and James turned to see who it was. Malfoy had freed himself of the webbing and had shaken off the spiders. Ron was standing behind him, looking thoughtful 

"Yes sir?" James and Lily asked at the same time. 

"Not you James, you may join the rest of your class. Ms. Potter. The headmaster would like to talk to you." 

Lily gasped quickly. She'd never been in trouble before. How could- She felt her cheeks grow warm with anger. Professor Malfoy! How dare he?! She stood promptly and marched down the stairs, being comforted by the sympathetic looks of her classmates, Ron, and the Weasley twins. 

"I hope to see you in my class later on," Malfoy told her in a low and cruel voice., "To say good-bye to your friends and with your bags packed, that is." The Slytherins sneered. 

Ron looked to the twins, "Show her to the headmaster's, will you?" 

"That isn't necessary," Malfoy said. "James, please escort your sister to the headmaster's office." He sneered at Ron. "I gave all of the children a tour of the grounds their first night here. I believe many of the Gryffindor students are in the habit of getting lost." The Slytherins chuckled. 

James grinned at Malfoy. "Yes sir. I'll show her to the Headmaster's office. I actually know the way." 

Malfoy grinned evilly at Ron, who could by then easily imagine horns growing out of Malfoy's head. This time, Ron added huge fangs, and stuck Malfoy in a tutu, a trick he had learned from Professor Lupin (and Neville). He was disappointed to see that Malfoy didn't explode. 

Lily turned and walked out of the doorway with James walking beside her, grinning as if it were Christmas. 

"What's gotten into you, James?" Lily asked quietly. 

"What do you mean?" 

"You've changed. You aren't... good anymore. You remind me of Uncle Dudley, except when Uncle Dudley tiptoed carefully around matters concerning us." 

"That's because he knew what we were- how powerful we are! We have real magic, Lily! Can you imagine what we can do with it?" 

"I want to find our father and live with him," Lily said, not mentioning she knew who their father was. 

"Well, we can't live with him. We can't even find him." 

Lily stared at him in disbelief. He hadn't even noticed! Had whatever had a hold of him made him blind, as well as purely evil? 

"What?" 

"We're famous, Lily. We defeated the greatest wizard of all time- so did our dad. We're destined to be great. Can't you feel it? We can do whatever we want to! We can even- Oh, here we are." He stopped in front of a stone gargoyle which looked incredibly ugly. 

"Password?" the gargoyle asked. 

Lily, ignoring James's abashed look which told her that he didn't know the password, climbed up next to the goblin and whispered into his ear. 

The gargoyle grinned and leapt out of her way and bowed to her as she walked through the wall, which had slid silently in two. 

"You know the password?" James asked, incredulous. 

Lily nodded. "I'm teaching Brownie English while I teach Becky Areanatu. She can't speak it, but she can understand it." 

"Do you know the Slytherin house's password?" James asked, nervous now. 

Lily simply smiled at him as the wall closed behind her. 

She sighed and stepped onto the spiral staircase, which seemed to go continuously upward like an escalator. As she rose continually higher, she silently thanked Brownie for reporting to her all the English the small spider had understood at breakfast that morning. The Slytherins password, she had been told, hadn't changed in years. It was "Pure blood." The Hufflepuffs had "Whatchamacallit," and the Ravenclaws had chosen, "Riple Whople." 

Lily roes higher, and she concentrated on looking at her shoes. Everything except the stairs seemed to be moving, and her stomach was beginning to churn. 

At the top of the stairs, she saw a door that was made of an oak so clean that the wood nearly shimmered. In the center of the door was a gleaming brass knocker shaped like a griffin. As Lily stuck out her hand to knock, the griffin moved to look her in the face, sliding across the door as it did so. "You supposed to be here?" it asked. 

"Yes," Lily said quietly. "I think I'm in trouble." 

The griffin grinned. "On the first day!" He saw Lily's troubled expression. "Hey, don't worry, kid. You ain't the first one. The Weasley twins have been through here three times already. I mean, I know everything about those two, they've been here so many times. And besides, Potter's got a good sense of humor, don't let him trick you there." 

The griffin saw her scar. "Another one! You Potters are nearly worse than the Weasleys. Good thing Hogwarts doesn't see as many of you pass through here, though. If so, this place would've been burned to the ground long ago!" Lily didn't ask what he meant. 

"Here," the griffin told her. "Knock, Potter will come, you'll have your talking to- if you're really in trouble- that is, and then you can be out of here in time for your next class. But you can't come in without permission. Rules, you know." 

"Thank you," Lily said, as the griffin offered her its clasped brass wings to knock. She pulled on it and dropped it three times. 

"Come in," said a muffled voice from the other side of the door. 

The door swung open silently, and Lily stepped through. 

It wasn't much of an office, although it was still much more elaborate than any others she had seen so far. Maps and astrology charts were fixed to the walls, squeezed in between bookshelves crammed with books. In front of her, there was a wooden desk made of shiny cherry oak which was itself covered with papers, quills, and other knickknacks which Lily couldn't hope to name. On the other side of the desk was the man she'd seen next to Ron, Headmaster Potter. He rubbed his bangs over his forehead nervously when he saw her. 

On his shoulder, a magnificent bird with orange, red, and golden plumage turned to look at her. It looked to Lily as if the bird had been crying. The headmaster's robe's sleeve was soaked. 

"You'll have to excuse Fawkes," he said. "He's been trying to heal my internal bleeding- which I don't have- all morning." He shooed Fawkes with a hand until the bird jumped and flew into another room haughtily. 

"Fawkes is a phoenix," Headmaster Potter said, seeing Lily's stunned look. "Phoenixes' tears have healing powers-" he raised his voice "-BUT NOT FOR CERTAIN THINGS!" From the other room, Lily heard an indignant squawk. 

Behind her, Lily suddenly heard a grating sound as if metal was being scraped by wood. She turned to see what was causing it and saw the griffin, now turned around to face the office. It winked at her. 

"Fred," Headmaster Potter said. "Turn around." 

"But-" 

"No buts. This isn't any of your business. Now go on." 

The griffin, now having a name to match its face, turned, muttering, "I never get to see. The Potters! Something's bound to explode, too, but will I see it? No. Not Fred. Never poor Fred. Never me, nope. Not me!" He continued ranting while he turned around with a great amount of noise. His voice became muffled as he did so. 

Headmaster Potter sighed. "You'll have to excuse Fred," he told Lily. "He's named after Professor Weasley's older brother, who caused quite a lot of mischief here in their day. His twin, George, has the staircase named after him. Sometimes George will stop suddenly so everyone will tumble down." 

Lily grinned nervously, trying to ignore the fact that she was sitting right across from her father, whom she hadn't seen in ten years. "Headmaster Potter, I'm here about-" 

He chuckled. "About Professor Malfoy. Superb trick, if I say so myself." 

"I'm sorry-" Lily started, completely lost. She didn't think it was funny at all. It had been totally wrong, and she was sure to pay for it. And then here was the headmaster, congratulating her on a job well done. 

"Call me Harry. I won't punish you, if that's what you're thinking. You said so yourself, you couldn't make the spiders do anything they didn't want to do, and you also said they wanted to attack Malfoy, so I can't hold you at fault. The fault is the spiders', and I can't very well punish every spider inside these walls, can I?" 

Lily shook her head. He had a point, but still... 

"So how is your first day at Hogwarts going?" 

Lily hesitated. "Well, Transfiguration was all right, but I got kind of worked up when I found out Brownie was bringing everyone to visit me in Ron's class. I guess it was over nothing- Ron might actually be getting over his fear of spiders. When I first met him, he freaked when he saw Brownie and found out I could talk to her. I thought he was going to have a heart attack." 

Harry chuckled. "Yes, Hermione told me about Diagon Alley. So you can talk to spiders, hmm?" 

Lily nodded. "If I really wanted to, I could probably control them, but I really don't want to do that." 

Harry nodded. "I understand. They're friends- just different. You still don't want to take advantage of them. 

She nodded. "Exactly." 

Harry looked at his watch, "My. Well, you'd better hurry. Ron's class is just ending. You have lunch and then- lucky you- Herbology. I'm jealous." If Lily was any good at all from getting feelings out of voices, she knew she wasn't going to enjoy Herbology. Harry had finished the sentence in a dry tone. 

"Thank you, sir." 

"Harry. And thank you, Lily, for giving me one of the best laughs I've had in a long time." He chuckled again. "You should have seen Malfoy come hopping in here. Your friends did a lovely job tying him up." 

Lily grinned uncertainly. "Well, thank you, Harry, and, um, I'm glad you enjoyed it." 

As she left, she wondered at how odd the people at Hogwarts were. Headmasters who were actually pleased to have tricks played on teachers. Still, she felt even worse for Professor Malfoy. 

After she had gone, Harry went over to one of the many bookshelves and pulled out a certain book that was covered in dust. Harry looked at it briefly, wondering how long it had been since it had last been opened. He set it on his desk carefully, sending up a fine cloud of dust. He coughed as his eyes watered and opened the book, sending up another thick cloud of dust which made his eyes water again. 

She knew who he was. He could tell. Perhaps not as well as Dumbledore could have told, but he could tell all the same. He had faith in her, plenty of faith. Hermione had told him of her success in Transfiguration. And he had been assured by both Ron and Hermione that Lily was different from James. Smart, quiet, unassuming, and definitely skilled. Harry knew to trust them, but actually meeting her had made up his mind that his two friends were completely right. Not only that, but he could feel it when she walked into the room. She was powerful. Perhaps more so even than himself. 

He wasn't sure if he was doing it because he thought she would be perfectly capable of it, or if it was because he wanted to give her a gift- since he hadn't given her anything in ten years, or if he wanted to give her a reward. 

Nevertheless, he found the spell and read through it. Then, he said it aloud. 

He could feel it now, the room had a special spell on it. Anything said could be understood by spiders. If Lily wanted to, she could find out everything that was said in his study. 

* * *

"You should have seen him, though!" Ron yelled in Harry's study. He stooped low to the ground with his harms opened wide. "He was like this- he had a hold of Chris and Kevin, you see- and then he saw all of those spiders coming towards him, looking terrible, and then he looked like this." Ron dropped his mouth and made it and his eyes as wide and open as they would go. "And then the spiders completely covered him and he started trying to squash them-" He started to jump around and stomp as much as he could. "-but he didn't get a single one- even though there was the huge swarm of them. And then the spiders started to cover him in webbing, and he tore out of the room. You should have seen him! By the time he got in here, he'd fallen nearly ten times because he couldn't move his legs! He had to move like this." Ron placed his feet together, his arms to his sides, and starting hopping around like a spring. "And then George knocked him off the stairs tons of times, and Fred wouldn't let him in until the spiders started to bite him. And, I must admit, I helped a bit. Every chance I got, I stuck my wand into the webbing near his feet so he'd fall again!" He let out a roar of laughter. 

"Ron!" Hermione said strictly, but it lost its effect as she fell out of her chair, grabbing her sides and laughing. Her face had turned red. 

Harry laughed. "You should have seen him when he came in here, Hermione. His face was completely beet red, and he was stuttering, and he couldn't even stand still. I _am_ glad Fawkes kept the spiders out of the office, though." 

Hermione wiped her eyes. "So, Ron, are you over your fear of spiders?" 

"As long as they never do to me what they did to Malfoy." 

Hermione chuckled. "You know what Lily told me?" 

"What?" Harry and Ron both asked eagerly. 

"Brownie wants to make it a tradition. Says that once a week will do nicely- maybe more often." Harry and Ron looked at each other, grinning. "And Brownie says that next time, they'll tie Malfoy to his bed!" 

They all started laughing this time. Hedwig came through the window, looked at Fawkes, bewildered by the humans' behavior and promptly flew out again. 

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't get in twouble," Soup muttered for the umpteenth time. 

"I know," Lily said dreamily. The crowd of Gryffindors celebrating what had happened earlier to Professor Malfoy had finally left. Soup, Doug, Becky, and Lily, the only ones left in the common room, had just noticed that it was so late, it was early. "I can't believe I got to meet my father. After all these years." 

"Cool, isn't he?" Becky asked with a grin. 

Lily nodded. "I've decided." 

Becky and Soup leaned in, giving her their full attention. Doug, who had been slightly troubled since Transfiguration, finally turned away from the window to look at her. 

"I want to find out why no one told me Harry was my father." 


	9. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 9

Disclaimer- most of these characters in the following story- you know who they are- are not mine. They're J.K. Rowling's wonderful creations. The rest, however, ARE mine. As always, Copyright 2000. Over N out! 

Chapter Ten

The Greenskin Potion

Lily looked to the teachers' table, and caught Malfoy's eye. She quickly looked away as her scar began to burn. Her scar had done that every time she'd seen Malfoy since Monday. The problem was, he wasn't the only one who was beginning to make it burn. Every time James looked at her, it felt as if it were on the point of exploding. 

However, every time Harry looked at her, the scar seemed to warm, but it was a pleasant feeling. Not one that would nearly scare her half to death. 

Everyone was in the Great Hall, eating breakfast. Soup was sitting to her left, with Doug on his left, and Becky sitting on her right. 

"Mail should be arriving any minute," Becky whispered to her. 

"Gee, can't wait," Doug muttered sourly. Every morning, he got an owl from his mother, and he would always hastily scribble down on the parchment she sent him before he sent it back. After this, he was always in a bad mood, and the others had learned to stay away from him for a while. 

Several changes had been made since Monday. Now, no matter what time it was, there were always spiders around the Gryffindor table, and spiders could always be found in the Gryffindor common room, always getting more and more at home. The Gryffindors, however, were actually enjoying this. They often left out food to attract flies for them. Lily would have expected this to frighten many people, but instead, everyone seemed to be amazed at the thought of somewhat tame spiders, and they enjoyed the reputation it brought. 

Another change was that Ron, from that point on, entered the Great Hall with his arms pressed to his sides and hopped up to the teachers table, always asking Malfoy if he'd seen any spiders around lately. Ron also seemed to have gotten over his fear of spiders- but he still wouldn't voluntarily get within ten feet of one. 

"It's Fwiday," Soup muttered, also staring at Malfoy. 

"I can't wait," Lily mumbled, unpleased. 

"You know," said Chris from next to Becky, "I'd watch out for Malfoy. He absolutely _hates_ Gryffindors, and with that fabulous display Monday, he'll be out to get you." 

"In more ways than one," Kevin added. 

"Meaning?" Becky pushed. 

"If you don't watch out, he'll probably try to get your heads on silver platters." 

"He's the Potions master, so he'll probably try to make a curse so you'll boil down to-" Kevin looked at his brother. "Well, he's been known to do some pretty drastic things." 

"Turn people orange. 

"Melt a bunch of holes in them. 

"Shrink certain things for laughs. One time, he shrank Albert's arms and refused to grow them back again." 

"Or he makes things bigger." 

"Noses." 

"Lips." 

"Eyes." 

"Sometimes, he'll sneak potions into your food and drink that make you gag so you can't breathe." 

"And your face starts to change shape." 

"You start having spasms right on the floor." 

"And you can't speak because the potion burns your lips together." 

"So you look like a blistering idiot." 

"And he refuses to do a thing." 

The twins paused thoughtfully, looking from each other to the four fearful faces staring at them. 

Kevin spoke again. "Or he could just give you detention." 

The quartet sighed, realizing they'd been taken for fools. One by one, they all looked to Becky, who had more experience and would surely put the Weasley twins in their place. 

Becky stared back at them. "What?" she asked when they hadn't blinked in nearly a minute. 

Soup pointed at the Weasley twins, who were now grinning and toasting each other and then glared back at Becky. 

Becky sighed. "I'm not saying they're right or wrong, I think I know that they were putting us on, but the point is, I wouldn't put it past Malfoy to do any of those things." 

Lily gasped. Soup and Doug looked at each other and then stared at their food. They all sat in silence for a while. 

"But we _are_ going to the library this afternoon, aren't we?" Lily asked sharply. They hadn't had a chance to do research yet. Tuesday, they had spent the afternoon and night sleeping off the night before, and Wednesday, they'd had to get up at midnight for Astrology class with Professor Nadim in the Astrology tower. Thursday, they'd slept off the effects of that. But they'd have this afternoon off. 

"Sure, sure," Doug muttered, secretly hoping something would come up and they wouldn't be able to make it. He had never been a fan of research, and he wasn't going to start now. 

"MAIL!" someone shouted. 

Lily gave a slight start. She'd nearly freaked the first day the hundreds of owls had spilled into the room from every direction, and she still gave a slight jump every time she saw it. 

Orion hadn't brought her anything yet, but Wendelyn had always amused her, flying in and then flying in circles above them as Doug hastily wrote to his mother. 

However, this time, Lily spotted Orion in the crowd of owls and stared as he flew towards her. He dropped a scroll on her plate, which she luckily hadn't filled yet. Hastily, Lily picked it up and undid the string. She unrolled it and showed it to Becky and Soup, but Doug was muttering to himself as he wrote to his mother. 

Lily read aloud, "Would you like to eat lunch with us all at Hagrid's cottage?" 

She looked up and waved at Ron and Hermione, who were grinning broadly at her. 

"Well? Shall we?" she asked Becky and Soup. They nodded eagerly. Lily swallowed and reached over to poke Doug gently. He looked up, a distant look in his eyes. 

"What?" 

"Do you want to go to lunch with Ron, Hermione, and anyone else who might be there?" 

Lunch? That would mean they wouldn't have to go to the library if he made it last for a while. "Sure." 

"All right." Lily took out a pen, which she carried around with her out of habit. She wrote "Can't wait- We're all coming. Lily." She rolled up the scroll again and handed it to Orion, who hesitated. 

"Oh, I think I understand. Here, take some bread. How about some bacon?" Orion hooted happily and dug in. 

A few minutes later, Orion finished Lily's meal, grabbed the scroll in his talons, and took it to the teachers' table, dropping it on Ron's lap. 

"At least we'll have something to look forward to in Potions," Lily said hopefully. 

* * *

Potions, however, was worse than they could have thought. They had forgotten that they had double Potions with the Slytherins until Doug reminded them. He seemed to be in a better mood than usual. Lily supposed he had the lunch to look forward to. 

They left the Great Hall and headed back to the Gryffindor house to get their books before setting off to the dungeons. 

When they entered, the first thing Lily noticed was that it seemed as if all the spiders in Hogwarts were crammed into the common room. The many Gryffindors in the room were staring at all of them in awe. They'd never seen so many spiders in here before. 

_Brownie!_ Lily called out immediately. A sudden hush fell over the spiders as the humans in the room turned to stare at Lily, watching for any hints of what was going on. 

_Coming, girl. I'm coming._

_In the name of Athena,_ Lily rushed, _what is going on here?_

_Harry's- Headmaster's Potter's study is going on, that's what_, Brownie told her crossly, not appreciating the way Lily had used Athena's name. _All the spiders can understand what is said there._

Everyone waited in silence. Lily looked around. _Can you understand what is said in here?_

_No. Nowhere but that study. _

And you can understand everything said there? 

How many times must I tell you? Yes! 

Lily told the kids in the common room and explained- only mentioning that the spiders could understand everything said in Headmaster Potter's office. The Weasley twins, who had just walked in, let out an excited whoop. "See if they can tell us where they're hiding the packet of cherry bombs they took from us yesterday," Kevin asked. 

Lily repeated this to Brownie. 

_It's in the cupboard of Hagrid's cottage_, Brownie told her crossly. 

When Lily told them this, the twins looked crushed. "Hagrid's cottage," Chris muttered. "We'll never see them it again." He looked at Kevin and the two grinned evilly at each other before dashing off. 

_Until it was taken_, Brownie said evilly. 

_How could that happen?_ Lily asked Brownie. _How can all of the spiders understand all the English spoken in Harry's study but nowhere else? _

The Wise Ones are looking through the Webs now, Brownie told her. 

However, this explanation merely managed to confuse Lily more. _What?_ she asked. 

Brownie made her most human-like sigh. _A long time ago, the Ancient Ones recorded all the spider magic in Webs that serve much like humans' books. The first person like you taught us how to record things, and ever since, special spiders we call the Wise Ones have looked after the Webs, keeping them in tact and such._

Lily nodded to herself. She motioned to the others, and the quartet went to the far side of the room where Lily explained to them what had happened. 

Becky looked up suspicious. "Why would they do that?" 

Lily shook her head. "I don't think they could understand what was said before, which means that it happened sometime this week." 

"This week. The first week of school," Doug muttered slowly, mostly to himself. 

"The first week when his kids come to Hogwarts," Becky added. 

"Isn't it obvious?" Soup asked. They looked at him in surprise. "Lily knows what they say, and then they can make out all that's said in the study. The guys wanted Lily to know what was said, via the spidas." 

Lily nodded. "But what would be so interesting about what's said in his study?" 

Becky shrugged. "It would be their first gift to you, besides the owl, in years. Maybe they're trying to catch up." 

Lily nodded and smiled. "Maybe if something interesting happens, it'll be a great gift." 

"Just hope they don't do their taxes in there," Doug pointed out. "My mom says that's the most boring event of every year." 

Soup checked his watch. "We'd betta go. Potions is in a few minutes." 

"How many minutes?" Becky asked, suddenly sounding tired. 

"Five." 

"FIVE!" 

With that, they tore out of the room, dodging spiders and their webs. 

* * *

They arrived just in the nick of time. Most of the other students were already there, standing next to their already fully set-up cauldrons. Everyone turned as they ran in, out of breath and practically gasping for air. Not only had they had only five minutes, but Becky had gotten them lost a number of times, and they thought they had made pretty good time. 

"Ms Potter and company," Professor Malfoy sneered. "How nice of you to join us. Wanted to make an entrance, did you?" 

"No sir." Lily said cautiously, not wanting a previously made enlarging potion to suddenly appear and hit her out of nowhere. "We got lost on the way here, sir." 

"Did you? Then I suggest you don't get lost in the future. Now find a place to set up your cauldrons. Two to each." 

As they walked to the back of the room to set up their cauldrons, several of the Slytherins turned to sneer at them, muttering about how typical it was of Gryffindors to get lost on the way to class. 

"No spiders are coming, are they, Ms Potter?" 

"No sir." 

"Then let's begin. Everyone, take the crushed spider legs..." 

Lily froze and looked to Becky, who was sharing Lily's cauldron with her. Becky nodded, almost imperceptibly, and scooped the spider legs into her own hand. Malfoy saw this out of the corner of his eye and became thoughtful. After a while, Lily realized that he was trying to make Becky wait to get rid of the spider legs in her hand. 

"Now, if we wanted to make a potion that would turn someone's skin green, what would we add to it?" He looked around the room to call on someone. James had his hand in the air, confident in his answer and seemingly acting nonchalant. He was sitting with another Slytherin directly in front of Becky and Lily. Lily, although she knew the answer, was too busy staring, frozen, at the crushed spider legs in Becky's hand to raise her own hand. Had Professor Malfoy _meant_ to do this? What was she thinking? Of course he'd meant to. It was some sort of revenge for what the spiders had done to him Monday. Okay, she might have had a small part in it, but it had mostly been the spiders. 

"Ms Potter?" 

"Eye of newt and a chokecherry, sir." 

She looked away from the spider legs just in time to see, momentarily, a look of surprise on Malfoy's face. He quickly covered it up. "All right. Next question. Where could you find a splintop?" 

"On the island of Sri Lanka, sir." 

"Okay, answer this. If I wanted to make a boiling potion, where would I look to find a fluent?" 

"You wouldn't waste your time, sir. The fluent went extinct long ago, and even back then, the boiling potion was sometimes faulty." 

"It didn't say that in the book." 

"Yes it did. The fourth paragraph on the page." 

"Which page?" Malfoy snapped, snatching up Becky's book. Becky glared at him, and then looked at the crushed spider legs in her hand thoughtfully, as if thinking how wonderful it would be to simply throw all of the crushed spider legs in his hair- or, even better, his eyes or mouth. She grinned evilly and looked up by mistake, seeing Lily's glare, which was directed at her. Becky tried her best to calm down. 

"Page 138, sir." Lily wasn't sure how she remembered, but she was certain it was on that page. 

Malfoy flipped to the page, nearly tearing the sheets out. He skimmed the page Lily had said. His eyes seemed to pop out, and he went back to the beginning to read over the page again. This time, he kept his eyes an inch away from the page, staring at each letter and word as if it were a traitor, and at any moment he might shoot it down. 

He threw the book back on the desk. "Yes, well." He cleared his throat and went back to the front of the room. 

Many of the Gryffindors turned to Lily and gave her the thumbs-up sign, smiling at her. Nearly all the Slytherins turned to sneer at her. James hissed "Show off," and "Know-it-all" at her. Lily tried her best to ignore him. 

"Mr Potter, at what point would I put the eye of newt and the chokeberry into the cauldron?" 

James immediately turned around and looked angelic. "You would put the spider legs in when the water starts boiling, along with the eye of newt. You would then stir those together until it makes a kind of brownish color, and then you would add the chokecherry." 

Malfoy grinned at him. "Very good. Very good, indeed. Five points to Slytherin." 

The Gryffindors gaped at each other. It was obvious that Malfoy had already run the Slytherins through this, step by step. James would have gotten it right! It even _sounded_ like James had quoted it word for word from a book. No, he had probably quoted Malfoy. Kiss up to the teacher. But Lily had gotten all of the tough questions, and she hadn't gotten a single point! Not even half of one! James turned and grinned maliciously at Lily, who smiled back. She hadn't counted on receiving any points. And she knew that Malfoy wouldn't be giving her any. 

"Now, everyone fill your cauldrons, set on the heaters, and wait for them to boil. We'll see if you get this right." 

Lily filled their cauldron with water- since Becky could only use one hand unless she wanted to lose some of the spider legs- and flicked the switch to turn the heater on, briefly thinking of how lucky they were. She'd read in _A History of Magic_ that in the old days, they'd had to burn wood and set the cauldron above it and then wait for it to boil. Now, all they had to do was flick a switch, and a second later, the cauldron would boil. 

As it began to do so, Becky brushed the crushed spider legs into the water, and Lily dropped in the eye of newt. They began to stir. Lily watched the color until it turned a brown color and dropped in the chokecherry. 

The chokecherry seemed to explode as it sank under the water, and sent out a thick yellow cloud into the water, when the cloud had seemingly stopped moving, the water slowly but surely began to turn green. 

In front of her, Lily heard James whisper to his partner how it was such a shame he and his siter and been placed in different houses. After all, Professor Malfoy had said twins were stronger than other wizards and witches- especially together. Lily dismissed it, knowing that James was probably trying to play a trick on her. 

Malfoy was walking through the cauldrons, making comments on what had been done wrong to the Gryffindors, but telling all the Slytherins what a fine job they had done. He smiled at James, saying that the potion he and his partner, Tomas, had brewed was perfect. He reached Becky and Lily's cauldron and peered into it. Lily waited, certain that he would say "Too green," or "Not green enough," or some other picky tidbit. Instead, he straightened himself again, glared at her- making her scar burn- and walked away. 

As he was observing Doug and Soup's potion, Lily heard James in front of her tell his partner, "Hey, check this out." James leaned closer to the cauldron. "Double, bubble-" Instantly, the cauldron started to boil, sending up small splashes and a few green bubbles that popped. The droplets fell back into the cauldron. James looked up and grinned at Tommy, who was getting the Slytherins' attention, and, by doing so, was getting everyone's attention except Malfoy's. "-Toil and trouble. Fly from the cauldron, and land on..." He looked around for a victim, no doubt a Gryffindor, but the Gryffindors were all leaning in, trying to see what was going on. "...ABBY!" 

The potion flew out of the cauldron, heading towards Abby, the nearest Gryffindor. Abby held her hands out as if to stop it, but it did no good. She gave a quick shriek as the potion landed on her, and everyone in the room began to hear it sizzle. Abby's skin started turning green. 

"What is going on here?" Malfoy shouted, wheeling around as if he had just noticed that something was going wrong. 

"It's Abby, sir," James said. "I think she botched up her potion somehow. It exploded right in front of her." 

"Ten points from Gryffindor," Malfoy said, ignoring the fact that Abby's potion was still in the cauldron, but James's cauldron was perfectly empty. "Foolish girl. I would have thought anyone would have had more sense." Malfoy continued to lecture her. 

Lily dropped in another chokecherry into the potion and watched as it turned a shade of blue. Collecting a spoonful, she walked over to where Abby was kneeling. Without saying anything so as not to interrupt Malfoy's lecture, she took Abby's hands and spread the blue mixture, which had become a bit gooey, on them. When she rubbed the potion off a few seconds later, Abby's skin was normal again. 

"Ms. Potter, _what_ are you doing?" Malfoy snapped at her, just then realizing that she was there. 

"I was trying to help Abby, sir." 

"And how did you think you were going to do that?" 

"If you add one more chokecherry, you get a counter-potion" 

"Go to your seat. Ten points off Gryffindor for a student moving out of her place when not told to." 

"But-" Becky interrupted. 

"Silence!" roared Malfoy. "If anyone speaks without first being spoken to, they will lose points for their house! Do you understand, Longbottom?" 

All of the Slytherins snickered, and even many of the Gryffindors grinned (although they tried hard to hide it). Becky was the only one who didn't seem to think her last name was funny- besides Lily, Doug, and Soup- the boys, though, were also trying desperately to cover up their grins. 

"Yes, sir." 

Class went on in much the same way. Although Lily had worked out a cure for Abby, Malfoy still sent Abby to the infirmary, saying that was she had done was dangerous and if it were up to him, he'd never have her in his classroom again, and that she should be thankful the potion hadn't been life-threatening. 

Towards the end of the class, many of the Gryffindors were checking their watches, trying not to let their actions be seen by Malfoy. What the older kids had told them was true- Malfoy hated Gryffindors and loved Slytherins. 

* * *

"It was awful!" Becky complained loudly. Neville frowned and seemed about to stroke her hair, stopping when she realized that she was probably too old for that. Meanwhile, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Hagrid tried not to laugh out loud. 

"It wasn't that bad," Lily said honestly. 

Becky stared at her in awe and amazement and, maybe, even a little disgust. "Aren't you upset with him at _all_?" she asked, incredulous, as she stirred the batter for the cake Hermione was making for dessert. "He took ten points off of you! In all the other classes, you _made_ points. You didn't have them taken away. And then in his class, you _can't_ get points. Instead, he just takes them away." 

"Gryffindor is still in the lead for the House Cup," Lily pointed out. "As long as I don't do anything to give him a reason to take any points away, he won't." 

Ron ran his hands through his hair. "Goodness. Another Hermione in the making." 

Hagrid and Harry both choked on their tea and had to cough for a few minutes, although they laughed the entire time, which didn't help. Hermione simply stood in the kitchen, looking sternly at Ron with her hands on her hips, her wand clutched tightly in her hand as Neville tried to figure out what was so funny. To him, Hermione was fine. What would be wrong with another one? 

Hoping to change the subject, Lily asked, "Why aren't we allowed to go into the Forbidden Forest?" 

Harry cleared his throat. "Many things. The first that Hagrid is one of the few people here who can go into the woods and then find his way out. Most people get lost." 

Ron grinned. "My nephews being among them." 

Now Hagrid grinned. "I'm jus' glad they haven' learned their way 'round there. Then I'd really 'ave my work cut out." He laughed while the others chuckled. Lily looked at Becky, conveying the message that this seemed to be a private joke of Hagrid's, and that anyone who laughed merely did so to be polite. 

Harry continued. "There are tons of dangerous creatures." 

"Like Aragog?" she cut in. 

He nodded, though whether it was to her or to himself, she wasn't sure. "Yes. Aragog and his entire family. Then all the other spiders. Centaurs are there, too. Unicorns. Speaking of which, Hagrid? Has there been any trouble lately?" 

"'Pends what kin' yeh mean." 

"Any animals at all." 

"The snakes 'ave all left. Couldn' handle James, I guess." He laughed while Harry and Lily grinned feebly and Neville breathed a sigh of relief. 

This time, it was Hermione's turn to change the subject. "I think you'll like it here at Hogwarts, though, guys. We'll have a Halloween feast. Everyone goes in costume." 

Ron frowned. "Speaking of which, I overheard Chris and Kevin talking about the feast. And they only talk about things that early when they're planning something." 

"I know nothing," Soup muttered. 

Ron looked at him with a suspicious grin while Hermione stared sternly at Soup, and Harry looked at him, amused, but they didn't push anything. 

Lily looked at them curiously. Ron saw the look and grinned widely at her. 

"My nephews have a habit of getting into trouble. We let them get into it. I guess you could say we need as many laughs as we can get." 

The younger children smiled politely although Becky was the only one to actually laugh. Lily, Doug, and Soup looked at exchanged confused looks. None of them had ever had teachers like these. 

Everyone worked through dinner. Talking to the adults is actually easy, Lily thought quite often to herself. They aren't much more than kids themselves. 

After dinner, Hermione looked at her watch and jumped. "Goodness! If you four don't move fast, you're going to be the late! The Fat Lady always goes to visit other portraits at nine!" 

"The dishes-" Lily began. 

Hagrid grinned. "Don't worry about the dishes. You'd better get goin' 'fore she leaves, o' you'll be locked out." 

The four children obediently ran out of the cottage and across the grounds. 

Doug fell in step with Lily, who was having trouble holding up her robes and keeping a grip on her wand at the same time. 

"Can you believe them?" Doug asked her. "I've never met teachers like those." He shook his head. 

"I know," Lily agreed. "I hate to say it, but I almost miss my old teacher. They were... predictable." 

Doug nodded in agreement. "I can't wait till Halloween already," he told her. "At least things are _supposed_ to be weird then." 

* * *

Hermione started putting the dishes in the sink to soak. Although she was one of the most talented witches of the time and a teacher at Hogwarts, she still tended to do some things the muggle way- something Ron never failed to point out. 

Harry cleared his throat loudly. "I've been thinking," he announced. He was going to tell them now. They had to know- or did they? Well, he'd gotten half of it out of the way; he'd just have to finish. He'd decided they should know, so he'd tell them. Simple. 

Hermione flicked her wand and the dishes started washing themselves. She turned to face Harry, already knowing by the awful feeling in her stomach what he was going to say. Ron and she exchanged nervous glances. 

Hagrid sat down patiently. He'd learned after time to be patient with Harry. If the younger man wanted Hagrid to know something, Harry would tell him. 

Neville, however, was leaning forward in his seat, threatening to tip the chair over. He'd always wanted James and Lily to be able to stay at Hogwarts. Becky, in his opinion, needed a friend, and he had never understood why Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid moped about the problem when the answer was so simple. 

"Yes?" Hermione prodded. 

Harry cleared his throat again. "I've been thinking that maybe James and Lily should stay with me. Just over the summer." 

Neville and his chair fell onto the floor with a crash. Hagrid helped him up while Ron set the chair back. 

"Harry," Hermione said evenly, in an all-too-patient voice. "We discussed this. They're better off at the Dursleys. It's safer." 

"I know, but-" 

"You said so yourself, Voldemort will never think to look for them there. Why take a chance now?" 

"Because-" 

"No, Harry. It's too dangerous." 

"Can't I at least tell them that I'm their-" 

"Why?" Ron asked, stepping into the "conversation" for the first time. "Why now? You'd only get their hopes up. They'd have a lot of questions. And I don't think they're ready to face Voldemort yet." 

"Oh all-" 

"You might have them jumping at shadows," Ron went on. 

"Ron I-" 

"They'd want to leave with you," Hermione added, "and then you'd have to explain why not." 

"I said I-" 

"The point is, Harry," Ron finished, "is that we don't think you should tell them." 

"I GET THE POINT!" Harry shouted. Neville covered his ears with his hands. 

Harry stormed out of the room, silently seething. He'd gotten the point. He'd tried to tell them so, and then they had just simply interrupted him as if what he said didn't matter. He didn't have to be reminded so often. A simple "no" would have done just fine! 

He stopped in the middle of the trail, hidden from the cottage by trees and stood looking at Hogwarts, trying to get his breath back. He just couldn't help thinking that maybe his father would have been headmaster or teacher at Hogwarts after being forced to give Harry up to the Dursleys. His mother would be there too. But how would he have felt, never knowing they were his parents? Never knowing what had happened to him except for what other people told him, like it had been when he'd been growing up? What if he were in Lily's or James's shoes? Why couldn't any of the others understand that? 

With a frustrated sigh, Harry continued up the path to Hogwarts. 

Back in the cottage, Hermione sighed. "What's his problem?" she asked no one in particular. 

Ron shrugged. "You know Harry," he muttered. "Spoilsport." 

Hermione knitted her brows. "How is Harry a spoilsport? You two are almost as bad as both sets of twins." 

"I don't know," Ron said, using his exasperated voice. "He just is." 

Under her breath, Hermione muttered, "Whatever." 


	10. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 10

Disclaimer- a bunch of the characters in the following story belong to none other than the great N wonderful J.K. Rowling. The rest belong to lowly N humble me. Copyright 2000. 

Chapter Eleven Cherry Bombs 

Wednesday, Harry stood up and cleared his throat as the Great Hall quieted. He looked to make sure he had everyone's attention, and was pleased- more or less- to see that even the Bloody Baron was looking at him. "Today," Harry announced, "is the day I'm sure many of you first years have been looking forward to." He saw Lily, who was mainly the only first year he was looking at, look to the other Gryffindors at her table questioningly. "Professor Wood will be holding flying lessons this afternoon. Please see the schedules in your house common rules for further information." 

He sat down again and helped himself silently to some rolls and two pancakes. Ron looked at him and then looked away quickly while Hermione looked at Harry with a concerned look on her face. He hadn't spoken to any of them, Hagrid and Neville included, since last Friday. If Harry saw her look, he chose to ignore it as he smeared butter on his pancakes. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Great Hall, the quartet was chattering. 

"Bwooms!" Soup exclaimed. "Broomsbwoomsbwoomsbwooms!" Not even a sharp glare from both Becky and Doug would get him to stop and shut up. 

"I just hope I don't fall off," Mandy said from beside Doug. 

"You won't," Becky told her. "It's easy once you get the hang of it." She made a face. "Just in case, though. If you fall, make sure you're close to the ground." 

"Well that makes me feel a lot better," Mandy said dryly. She went back to talking to Erica. 

All of the Gryffindor first years raced through breakfast and made it back to their house common room in record time. Becky was in first after taking a short cut no one else knew about. 

The first thing the other three heard was the sound of her cussing. The Fat Lady covered her mouth with a hand as the other first years raced through. 

"What is it?" Lily asked, making her way across the room to where Becky was seething by the schedule. 

"We have flying lessons with the Slytherins," Becky said between grated teeth. 

Now all of the first years tumbled over each other. 

"Oh, no," Lily moaned. She fell over an armrest into a chair. "One class a week with the Slytherins is enough, but two?" 

"It'll be okay," Soup told her as he patted one of her shoes, which were sticking up in the air. 

"Right," Lily responded dryly. "In case you haven't noticed, we're doing these lessons with the Slytherins. James is a Slytherin. I hardly know my brother anymore. I don't know why I even admit he's my brother." 

"You don't mean that," Becky told her. Although she herself hated James with all her heart and soul, she knew that Lily definitely didn't feel that way. 

Lily sighed irately and looked at her watch. "We'd better get going," she told them. "Hermione's class is in a few minutes. 

* * * 

No matter how hard she tried- or for how long, Lily couldn't be upset when everyone around her was in their best spirits. By the time she was in Ron's class, it was hard to concentrate on her work with everyone around her so excited, but Ron had thankfully expected this and chosen an easy topic to pay attention to: counter curses for if anyone placed a jinx or curse on your broom. 

By lunch, all the Gryffindors, even Mandy and Erica, felt ready for that afternoon. During break, Soup had gone to check out Flying High from the library. It contained a lot tips on what to do in different situations, stunts to show off with, and even had an ad for the latest broom, the Lightyear 5000. Mandy was trying to find some cure for people who were afraid of heights. Everyone poured over its contents in the Gryffindor common room, except for Soup, who in the end hadn't had the chance, and Lily had been busy talking to Brownie and the other spiders, who were telling her about what they'd heard in Harry's office. It turned out that Flying High had apparently forgotten to mention all the people who had been injured while flying on their brooms. The spiders even told her that there had been a few deaths. For some reason, they seemed quite pleased with this, and it took Lily a while to understand that the spiders were just excited over how they could understand everything said in the office and were soakin g in everything they learned like juicy house flies. 

Brownie shook an arm at Lily. I'm telling you, girl, she told Lily sharply, you fall off that broom or get hurt in any way, you'll have to deal with the consequences. I will not be pleased. 

Don't worry about me, Lily told her. 

I know. Worry about the others who deserve it. Let me tell you something, girl. Just because you can speak to spiders doesn't mean you have spider blood. Mind you don't slip off the broom. 

Lily, slightly touched by Brownie's affection, leaned closer to the crack. Thanks, she told Brownie. 

The spider, however, had decided she'd seemed too much like a finch- too caring. She started scrambling for the crack in the floor. In the name of Athena, girl. Get one of those breath mints the other girls have. Your breath smells like a cat's. 

Lily grinned and nodded. 

As they walked to the fields behind Hogwarts, Lily, Soup, Doug, and Becky fell into step with each other at the back of the line. 

The Slytherins were already there, next to the better-looking broomsticks and laughing about something, which, Lily was sure, was them. A man stood in front of them all, looking totally exasperated and a little angry. 

The Gryffindors came and took places next to the brooms left, which were, safe to say, not the best. 

The man in front of them sighed. "All right. We're all here?" Everyone nodded. "Good. I'm Professor Wood. First of all, mount your brooms like this. Let me see everyone's grip." 

Wood floated on his broom, urging it forward slowly as he examined everyone's grip. 

"Now then," he said after he was done. "What we're going to do now is kick off the ground, but softly. You want to go straight up, and not that much. Ready?" Without waiting for them to nod, he continued. "Go." 

Everyone jumped at different levels. Many were very low and tried to get higher by kicking their feet. James and Lily were above them, sitting comfortably. Lily looked at Becky, who was a foot above her, and grinned. This was so easy! The only person who was having any trouble was Mandy, who had jumped too hard. Immediately, as if on cue, the Slytherins started snickering and jeering. 

Wood soared up on his broomstick. No one below could hear what was going on since they were too far up by then, but they did see Mandy hesitantly climb onto the broomstick behind Professor Wood. They came back down to the ground. Even from that far off, Lily could see the whites of Mandy's eyes. 

They landed, and Mandy got off the broom shakily. 

She stumbled over to Erica, who had gotten off of her broom, and hugged her. "I hate heights," Lily heard Mandy whisper. "I hate them." 

Erica tried to calm her down and rubbed her back. She looked at Wood, obviously asking for mercy for her friend. 

Wood shrugged. "I need to go get that broom. It takes a while to get new ones." He looked up, trying to find the broom. He groaned. "Oh, no. It's headed for the Forbidden Forest. I'd better get it fast." He looked at everyone before leaving. "Promise you'll be good?" he asked. They all nodded slowly. "Good. Detention to anyone who breaks his or her word." 

He soared off after the broom, speeding as fast as he could. 

As soon as Wood was out of earshot, the Gryffindors gathered around Mandy, trying to comfort her. The Slytherins roared with laughter. 

"Hey, watch this," James told everyone. He took a pack of something out of a pocket in his robe. "Cherry bombs," he whispered to the Slytherins nearby. They chuckled. James took a cherry bomb out of the pack and threw it in the direction of the Gryffindors. It hit someone's broom and exploded with a loud bang that made all of the Gryffindors jump and a few, for instance, Mandy, scream. 

"JAMES!" Lily shouted. 

James snickered. "Uh oh. I'm in trouble now. Little sister's mad at me." He got on his broom and flew upwards. He dropped a cherry bomb into the Gryffindors' group. Everyone backed away from where it was expected to land, and Doug grabbed Mandy in the nick of time to keep her from getting hit. 

"That's it!" Lily yelled. She grabbed her broom and jumped on it. She soared up after James, somehow knowing how to go up and down and from side to side. James apparently knew how, too. He turned around to throw a cherry bomb or two at her. She dodged them easily. 

James pulled to a sudden halt. Lily veered so as not to fly into him. She did a loop in the air. It's like being water, she thought to herself with joy. 

James dived and grabbed a branch from a near by tree. He struggled as he balanced with his weight and the branch's, but he finally managed to steady himself. He glared at Lily as he grinned wickedly. Lily sat on her broom, hovering in the air, waiting. He threw the pack of cherry bombs into the air. Lily watched. She realized what James was going to do and went straight up just as he hit the pack of bombs with the stick. Immediately, most of them exploded, but there were some that hadn't exploded, Lily knew, because they started going off one by one, slowly. Lily wondered how the bag was managing to stay in one piece and decided that it had to be magic. 

James laughed and went back down to the Slytherins. "Good luck, little sister." 

Lily looked at the bag again, shaking in fury. He hadn't been aiming it at her after all. He'd been aiming for the Gryffindors. 

She soared down. Two more cherry bombs exploded before she was within reach of it. Ten feet till she reached the Gryffindors. Mandy was standing stock still, staring at her in horror. If Mandy didn't move- 

Lily urged her broom forward. She stuck her hand out, ready to catch the bag. Five feet. Two feet. Lily felt a corner of the bag and grabbed it as she veered off course and away from Mandy. One of the cherry bombs exploded in her hand. She yelped in pain and rolled off her broom into the grass. Becky hurried over to help her. 

"Are you okay?" Becky asked. 

Lily blinked away tears, determined not to cry in front of the Slytherins or her brother. "I'm fine. It's just that- my hand hurts." She looked at it and cringed. No fingers were missing, and she supposed that was a good thing. The problem, though, was that her hand was covered in blood. She swallowed, trying to keep calm. 

"Excuse me. Excuse me. Okay, that's it. Get out of the way, or I'll blast you!" Lily looked up and grinned as she blearily saw Hermione running towards them. 

"How is it?" Hermione asked as soon as she saw Lily. She pushed aside another Gryffindor and saw Lily's hand. She cursed under her breath. "We'll have to take you to Madam Pomfrey, I'm afraid. She's tons better at healing than I am." She looked to Becky. "I think you should come too." Hermione raised her voice. "James?" she called. 

Silently, James walked over, looking at his shoes and acting perfectly innocent. "It wasn't my fault, Professor Granger," he said mournfully. 

Becky gave a little humph as the Gryffindors, all except Lily, glared at him. 

"Don't bother, James," Hermione told him tartly. "I saw the entire thing. I'll take you to see Headmaster Potter, and I'm sure your house will suffer a severe point loss for your antics, and you'll will most likely have detention." 

"Not so fast, Professor Granger," said a new voice. Everyone turned to see Professor Malfoy standing there with a wide grin on his face. "I believe that while young James and Ms. Potter were flying in the air, they were both told to stay on the ground and behave. Which means that they would both receive punishment." 

"I don't mean that, Professor Malfoy. I mean the way Mr. Potter here threw that pack of cherry bombs right at the Gryffindors. An obvious attempt to harm them." 

"One: He didn't throw the cherry bombs. He hit them. With a stick. Two: It's harder to aim that way, and I seriously doubt he meant to harm anyone." He came up behind James and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Isn't that so, James?" 

"Yes, sir." 

Lily cleared her throat. Hermione glanced at her as Lily held up her hand. Right then, it was numb, but Lily could have sworn that her thumb was starting to come back to life. Hermione's eyes changed, and a bit of feeling came back into them. 

"We'll discuss this later," Hermione told Malfoy curtly. "Right now, I have to get Lily to the infirmary before her hand is beyond help. Don't worry," she told the girl as Lily's face blanched. "We'll get there in time. Come on. We'll leave now." Grabbing Lily's other arm, she led her and Becky o the infirmary. Lily tried not to listen to the sudden outburst of laughter from the Slytherins behind her. 

* * * 

"Honestly," Madam Pomfrey, a short, gray-haired witch, said tiredly. "I don't see why people ride brooms. It's so dangerous." 

"It was the cherry bombs that did it," Lily reminded her, defending flying. "Besides, flying's fun." 

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "You and your father..." 

Hermione cleared her throat loudly. Madam Pomfrey jumped and became silent as she poured a cream over Lily's hand. 

"The skin is the only thing harmed," she explained. "Wait about five minutes and then rub your hands together. It's odd that cherry bombs would do that. Usually, if they do any harm at all, they just burn the skin." She told Lily and Becky crossly, "But that doesn't mean I approve of them at all." 

Hermione nodded. "I think I know who might have done this. The Weasley twins need cherry bombs of sufficient strength to blast off all of those toilet seats." Now she also began to talk to Lily and Becky. "They think I don't know that the Gryffindor password- Taes Teliot- is 'Toilet Seat' spelled backwards," she explained to them. 

Lily thought. "I think I remember something about that. Kevin and Chris were asking where the cherry bombs were- the ones that Hagrid took from them- and I asked Brownie and she said that they were in Hagrid's cottage, but they'd been taken." 

"Why did you ask Brownie?" 

"The spiders can understand everything that's said in Harry's- Headmaster Potter's" she hastily corrected herself as she remembered Madam Pomfrey, "study." 

"Since when?" Lily looked more closely at Hermione, whose eyebrows were knit together, causing creases all over her forehead. 

"I thought you knew." 

Hermione shook her head. Lily and Becky looked at each other. 

"Rub those hands together, dear," Madam Pomfrey said to Lily. Lily looked at her hands, one of which seemed to be tinged gray, and the other looked too yellow for her tastes. The good thing was that all of her skin was back. She rubbed her hands together obediently. "Get every bit," Madam Pomfrey added. Lily examined her hands. The gray one was beginning to turn back to the fair skin she was used to, and the yellow color was slowly but surely coming off of her other hand. When she was done, her hand was bare of all cuts and signs of the cherry bomb explosion and back to its regular tint. 

"Your done," Madam Pomfrey exclaimed with a touch of pride. "Now go on, scat. I've got other patients, you know." 

Lily and Becky didn't argue. Instead, they thanked her and walked into the hallway to wait for Hermione. As soon as the door was shut behind them, they lunged for it again and stuck their ears to the door. 

"-didn't know he was going to do that," Hermione was saying. "He should have talked to us first." 

"Relax, Hermione. He hasn't seen them in ten years. I'd spoil them too, if they were my kids." 

"Still, if something happens..." 

"Nothing will happen. You'll see. It's been quiet for nearly fifteen years." Hermione cleared her throat in the silence, and Lily could easily imagine the unconvinced look she was giving Madam Pomfrey. "Well, all right. Ten years, then. But it could have been fifteen, if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named hadn't tried to get revenge." 

"Poppy," Hermione said tiredly. "Use Voldemort." Becky's eyes popped on the other side of the door, and Lily had to hush her as Becky clapped her hand over her mouth. "It doesn't do to be afraid of a name." 

"Sure, sure," Madam Pomfrey said, unconvinced. 

Hermione sighed. "I've got to go now. Take the two eavesdroppers outside to the Gryffindor house." 

Lily and Becky quickly backed away from the door, staring at each other in surprise. "She couldn't have known," Lily whispered. 

Hermione came out of the room, looking as if she hadn't known they had been listening. Following suit, the two girls straightened their backs and tried their best to look innocent while Hermione tried hard to keep from laughing at their efforts. 

"Well," she said, changing the subject. "I'm glad to tell you that I don't think you'll be punished, Lily. Malfoy wouldn't do anything that would get a Slytherin in more trouble than a Gryffindor. And, we have an opening on the Quidditch team for seeker." 

"Seeker?!" Becky exclaimed. She looked over at Lily. "I told you you'd make a good Seeker!" she told Lily excitedly. Lily grinned back, slightly uncertain. 

"If you don't mind my asking, Hermione, what does a Seeker do?" 

Hermione's brows knitted together again. "Catches the Snitch, of course." She looked at Lily and saw that this hadn't helped matters. "I'll let Melissa explain it all to you. Melissa McKenzie is the Gryffindor Quidditch team's captain," she explained further." 

"Oh." 

"I'll tell her as soon as I see her. If my guess is correct, she's on the Quidditch field right now, trying out her new broom that she got from her parents for the school year to celebrate. She was voted captain just last year, you see. This is her first year coaching. The broom is a Lightyear 2000. You'll probably need a 5000, though. I'll talk to Harry." Hermione's features clouded slightly. "You to go on to the house. I really have to talk to Harry." 

"It wasn't such a bad thing, was it?" Lily asked, hoping to stand up for Harry. She'd heard of stories about what happened when Hermione got mad. She didn't want to hear one about Hermione's anger being directed at her father. 

Hermione looked down her nose at her. Lily looked away and walked with Becky to the Gryffindor house. 


	11. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 11

Disclaimer- a lot of the following characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The rest, sadly, are mind- I mean, MINE. Copyright 2000. 

Chapter Twelve The Twick 

After a while, Lily decided that she was the lucky one. The Sorting Hat had been right. She'd memorized her books- though she had no idea how. As soon as she got out of classes, she had to go and practice Quidditch with the Gryffindor team. Melissa McKenzie, Lily had to admit, was a pretty tough coach. First, she made Lily memorize all the rules and plays until Lily got her broomstick. 

It arrived by owl on a Saturday morning, which (Becky told her with a groan) meant that she would be practicing on it for the rest of the day. 

By the end of the day, she was ready and well prepared for their first game. 

No one knew that Lily was on the Gryffindor team except for Becky, Doug, Soup, and the Gryffindor team. They were saving her as a surprise for the Slytherins. ("Think of it as a birthday present," Melissa had said. "You're going to jump out of the cake and steal the show. Not to mention the game.") 

Much to the Slytherins disgust, Lily managed to balance Quidditch and still get good marks on all of her papers and quizes. Most surprised and disgusted of all was James, who didn't bother to read any of their books- unless it was about something particularly gruesome. 

Meanwhile, Halloween was getting closer and closer. This was apparently a big event at Hogwarts. The older kids were buzzing about Halloween, filling Lily and the others in. Besides the costume party, the teachers decorated the front hall until it was barely recognizable. The ghosts did a "haunted house," which doubled as Nearly Headless Nick's (the Gryffindor ghost) deathday. 

"Deathday?" Lily had asked in shock. "He celebrates a deathday?" 

"Of course," Becky had answered her. "Who wants to celebrate the day they were born when they're dead? Besides, a deathday is kind of like a second birthday, into a different kind of life, you know?" 

Lily had nodded, still shocked. 

No one bothered Chris and Kevin, who were acting more and more secretive. 

* * * 

Halloween finally came. 

The quartet walked together to the Great Hall, joking about their costumes. Doug had finally been talked out of going to the banquet as Tarzan, and was instead dressed as a prince from some fairy tale (although Lily and Becky had told him he didn't look like any handsome prince they'd ever seen). Soup had decided to make a joke with his name, and was going as a can of tomato soup. Becky, however, had planned for usefulness instead of jokes and looks. She was going as a large orange pumpkin that she could stuff candy into for late night snacks later. Lily, surprisingly, was going as a pirate, not as a spider as many people had suspected. She had even drawn a beard and mustache on her face. Brownie and a few of the other spiders had helped to tie her hair under the pirate's hat using their non-sticky webbing. She had borrowed an old pair of Neville's boots, a pair of Doug's black pants, and one of Ron's red shirts, which she had to tuck in or else they hung at her knees like her pajamas. 

The Great Hall had definitely been decorated. On the far side, Nearly Headless Nick was standing in a doorway- or at least the wall next to the doorway, stuck half in and half out- jubilantly greeting all the students going to through the haunted house. Countless bats were flying around, though, surprisingly, none of them hit the ceiling once. 

Lily had to reintroduce herself often that night. Doug was busy going through the haunted house. Lily lost count around the twelfth time she saw him go through. Becky was busy talking with a friend of hers in Hufflepuff. The other girl and Becky were both busy stuffing Becky's pumpkin shell with candy. Lily could already see that Becky's costume was already bulging. Soup was eating as much of the food at the table as he could. 

"Have you tasted this stuff?" he asked Lily in between a large gulp and three more swallows. "It's delicious!" Lily looked around and realized that many other people were also stuffing their faces with the food. It must been good. No one had eaten like this even at the Start of Term Banquet. 

Lily went over to the table. She understood that Soup liked the food here. She did too. They had both been raised eating muggle foods and the food at Hogwarts was much better. She tasted a cupcake. 

"I don't see what's so different." 

Soup shrugged and stuffed the rest of her cupcake in his mouth whole. Lily groaned and walked away. 

She found Brownie in a crack in a nearby wall. 

What's up? she whispered. 

Brownie answered crankily, The bats are up, girl. Are you blind? They eat spiders. The only place we're safe is in the walls and in the Gryffindor common room. 

Anything interesting in Harry's office? 

Brownie gave a surprisingly human yawn. Boring. Now, then. If you'll excuse me, I can't stay and be your company all night. I have to go meet someone. 

Lily raised her eyebrows. 

Don't look like that, girl. He's nice. A bit dumb, I'll grant you that, but he's nice. 

Good luck, Lily said. 

Brownie turned and walked away. 

Lily wandered off. Eventually, she caught up with Doug as he was coming out of the exit of the haunted house. 

"Lily! Great! Come on," he urged her. And with that, he turned and dragged her off to the entrance. 

Lily smiled at Nearly Headless Nick, who was greeting the people going into the haunted house and sometimes giving them warnings to try and scare them, as she passed and shouted an apology as Doug dragged her off before she could have a decent conversation with him. 

The first room was completely dark. "You'll love this," Doug whispered to her. Suddenly, a bat squeaked and a ghost appeared beside Lily, touching her arm. She gave a slight shriek and jumped back. Doug and the ghost laughed. 

"Sorry about that, dearie," the ghost said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get ready for the next person." 

Lily nodded soundlessly as Doug pulled her along, not believing she had been that scared. The next room was well lit. When Doug saw how large her eyes were, he started laughing again. "If you thought that was scary, just-" 

Whatever he had been going to tell her was interrupted by thousands of shrieks from above, drawing Lily's eyes upwards. A black cloud of bats seemed to be falling straight for her. She held up her arms so as not to be hit by them. At the last instant, however, the bats veered off their course and flew upwards again. 

Doug was laughing at her expense again as well. "Bats don't fly into things," he explained to her. "They have sonar for that. They're nearly blind, so they locate things by sound. They send out a thousand little squeaks that bounce off of things to tell them where they're going." 

Lily nodded. She had known all of that, of course, but instinct had made her act like a little child. 

And so it went on. They went from room to room, always to be surprised. Lily tried her best to control herself while Doug acted nonchalant about everything he saw. By the time they'd gotten to the last room, Lily found that she had come to admire Doug for his bravery. She was sure that even if she had been through the haunted house as many times as he had that she still would have at least jumped, but Doug didn't even tense up. 

They entered the Great Hall again, laughing. 

They looked around in surprise. The Great Hall was nearly empty. The few people left were standing around in silent groups, conferring amongst themselves. No one was going near the food. The next thing they saw was Becky, who was emptying her pumpkin suit of the candy. They made their way towards her. 

"What happened?" Doug asked. 

Becky looked at them, and then looked away. "It's Soup," she said quietly. "And a lot of other people. No one understands it. Everyone seemed to get sick at once. The teachers took them to the infirmary." 

* * * 

Hermione stroked her chin with her wand. "What could have made them do this, though?" she asked. 

Ron and Harry looked at each other helplessly and then back to her. "We don't have any clue," Ron told her. 

Harry interjected. "Yes we do. Voldemort." 

Madam Pomfrey's mouth dropped open. She hurriedly left to see to the children on the other side of the infirmary while the trio behind her shook their heads pitifully. 

"He's the only one who would do this," Harry continued. "I'm just glad Lily and James didn't-" 

Now Hermione interrupted. "Harry, if you haven't noticed, Lily and James weren't in danger in any case." 

Ron and Harry looked to Hermione beseechingly. She sighed and put her hands on her hips, looking disappointed with them. "Honestly, haven't you noticed that all of these students are muggle-born?" 

Ron and Harry looked around. 

"She's right," Ron said at last. 

Harry nodded. "I told you it was Voldemort." 

They looked back to Soup, who was lying on the cot in front of them. The soup can had been removed and he was lying under a number of sheets, all of which were soaked through with sweat. The heavy blanket on top, also soaked in sweat, couldn't stop Soup from shivering. 

"Poppy said that if they keep going at this rate, they'll be dead by tomorrow morning," Hermione said quietly. 

"Cure?" Ron asked. 

"Haven't found one." 

Harry cleared his throat. "Right. We'll have to do a freezing spell on them until we can find a cure, then. Hermione, you and Poppy start at that end. Ron, you go get some other teachers to help. I'll start at this end." 

By dawn, although all the teachers were all tired, they had frozen everyone in the infirmary. Classes for the next day and Monday would be canceled in order for everyone to try and find a cure. 


	12. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 12

Disclaimer- most of the characters in the following story were created by J.K. Rowling. The rest were created by me. (Sorry.) Copyright 2000. 

Chapter Thirteen Caught 

On Monday, there was less cheering than had been expected when the students were told that classes were canceled. Everyone was all too aware of the empty seats. People were advised to stay in their common rooms for the day and not wander on the grounds. All day, owls were flying to and fro, carrying messages to worrying parents. Doug's letter to his mom was nearly three times longer than usual. Becky spent most of the day with her father and Hagrid. Doug went up to his room, leaving Lily alone and not telling her what he was doing. 

Lily, being left alone, didn't know what to do with herself. She wasn't allowed to wander on the grounds, yet she hated being stuck in the common room, where everything was silent and gloomy. 

The spiders were all in Harry's office, trying to find out everything they could about the illness and how the cure was progressing. 

Speaking of Harry, Lily and the others had never been able to make it to the library to find out why no one had told her he was her father. There had been too much to do between schoolwork, Halloween, luncheons with Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Hagrid to find the time to go. 

Lily silently got out of her chair. Everyone else had gone to their rooms, preferring the privacy to the common room. She slid out of the portrait hole and noticed that the Fat Lady was nowhere to be seen, probably off visiting other paintings and listening to the rumors about what was happening. 

Lily hoped the Lady would be back in time to let Lily in when she got back and set out for the library. The first thing she noticed was that all of the halls were empty. The paintings were full of landscapes but nothing else. The Tin Men were absent from their pedestals. Lily didn't even see Mrs. Norris or Mr. Filch anywhere. 

When she reached the library, she was surprised to see that it was empty and that not even the librarian, Madam Pince, was there. She wandered over to a set of bookshelves and stared at them, not knowing where to begin. Well, everyone had told her that Harry was one of the greatest wizards of all time. Why not start with The Greatest Wizards and Witches of All Time? Lily pulled the large volume off the shelf and blew off the thin sheet of dust on it. Finding a table, she sat down and flipped back to the index. 

"Potter, Harry," she muttered to herself. "Page 382-456. That's a lot of pages." Nevertheless, she flipped back to page 382 and started reading. She read about how Harry's parents- her grandparents- had been killed when Harry was one by an evil wizard named Voldemort, also called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who. Harry had defeated Voldemort and sapped the evil wizard of all his strength through the power of his mother's love. After his parents were killed, Professor Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the time, and Professor McGonagall, both teachers at Hogwarts, and a man named Rubeus Hagrid, the groundskeeper at Hogwarts, had all taken him to stay with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and cousin Dudley. The Dursleys had treated him awfully until he went to Hogwarts. There, he defeated Voldemort again with the help of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, and found the Sorcerer's Stone. The second year, he had defeated the basilisk, who was working for a shadow, or memory, of Voldemort. The third year, he had helped get his godfather, Sirius Black, to safety and had come a step closer to finding out the truth about his parents. And so the list went on. Lily read until page 454, where she and James entered the story for the first time. They had been sent to the Dursleys' so as not to be found by Voldemort until they could defend themselves. Now, however, they were back at Hogwarts and receiving their education. 

Lily checked the copryright date on the book. 1768. However, she had heard of books that changed themselves in order to keep up with the times. She figured that this must be one of them. 

She spent the rest of the afternoon reading through Hermione and Ron's biographies. She didn't snap out of her phase until the clock on the wall screamed that it was time for dinner. 

Lily put the book back on its shelf and raced to the Great Hall. She noticed that the teachers were all pale and had shadows under their eyes- all except for Malfoy, at least. If any of the teachers noticed the children, however, they gave no sign. They were all eating slowly and feebly. 

Lily squeezed into the seat next to Doug and Becky. 

"What's going on?" she asked them. 

"Bad news," Becky replied sourly. 

Doug sighed and began to give more details. "None of the teachers have no clue what's causing it. They've had to put everyone in the infirmary under a freeze-spell, or else they'll be dead before morning. The problem is, no one knows about a cure." 

Lily nodded, thinking of Soup, and silently ate her spaghetti. As she ate, she thought that she would rather have Soup back than know why no one had told her about Harry being her father. She knew that, though. To protect her from Voldemort. Still, there had to be something she could do for Soup. She hated just sitting here doing nothing while he stayed frozen in the infirmary. 

"I hate this," she finally said. The other two looked at her beseechingly. "I hate sitting here and doing nothing," she explained. "I mean, I know why no one told me Harry was my father. It was to protect me from Voldemort. So why can't I find out what's wrong with Soup?" She stared at her dinner coldly. 

"Are you suggesting," Becky said as she bit into a roll, "that we try and find a cure ourselves?" 

"I know. We probably won't be able to pull it off," Lily admitted. 

"No, no. I think it's a great plan. We can find out everything we need to from the spiders, after all. I think we should at least try." 

"Really?" 

Doug nodded in agreement with Becky. "I think we should at least look into it. I mean, Soup is our friend, and I feel kind of guilty sitting here and doing nothing." 

"So that settles it. Lily can be the brain power. I can pump Hagrid and my dad for information, and Doug can eat." 

"Hey!" Doug shouted at her. 

"What?" 

* * * 

Knowing that the adults would not approve and probably send them away, the trio didn't tell anyone what they were planning. 

That night, they began their operations. 

What else did they say? Lily asked Brownie again. 

I'm telling you girl, that's all. They had a huge meeting today. All the Tin Men and paintings were there, too. No one had any ideas. But when everyone left, Harry, Hermione, and Ron said that Voldemort was behind this. Except this time, he may have actually won. 

Lily repeated what Brownie had said to Doug and Becky. 

"That's bad," Becky said. "Very bad." 

Doug didn't say anything. 

Thanks, Lily told Brownie. 

Without a word, Brownie turned and walked back into the crack in the wall. 

"Well?" Lily finally asked. "Where do we go from here?" 

Doug shook his head and admitted, "I have no clue. 

Becky, however, stared hard at a pillow behind Lily. "When there is no other place to start, always search the library," she said finally. 

Doug groaned. 

* * * 

However, although they had the best intentions in the world, their schedule made no room for such things. Melissa McKenzie, seeing all the free time everyone had, was using it for extra Quidditch practice. Although they rarely let the snitch out of the box, Lily still had to go. Also, the job called for stealth and secrecy, so the trio would have to sneak to the library. 

A few times, however, they did manage to get a few minutes to themselves. The bad thing was that as soon as they reached the library, they never had time to do anything, and they couldn't figure out where to look. 

Finally, they came up with a plan to find out about illnesses first. Slowly, bit by bit through November and most of December, they worked their way through these, never finding anything to help Soup. Next, they checked up on curses and spells. Nothing. But they did find out one name that kept repeating itself everywhere they looked: Voldemort. 

"If only we could look at one of the books in the restricted section," Lily dreamily muttered one day. "One time, I thought I saw something that looked like Voldemort's autobiography, but the book ran away before I could get a good look." 

Doug shook his head. "Hate it when books decide to play tricks on you like that. One time, one of my mom's books crawled into my bed and bit me. Thought it was great fun, too." 

Lily and Becky stared at him and then glanced at each other. 

"Not even I'm allowed in there," Becky said. "Those books are really important. Harry said that he opened one when he wasn't supposed to, and it screamed its pages off- well, almost. It screamed really loudly, at least." 

Lily sighed. "So that's that. We're stuck." 

The others nodded grimly in agreement. 

They didn't get a good break until Christmas. 

* * * 

Before they knew it, Lily was playing in her first Quidditch game against none other than Slytherin. 

Becky and Doug, who were sitting in the stands next to Hagrid, Neville, Hermione, and Ron, watched as Harry climbed over to them. He looked grim. 

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked. 

"Malfoy. He waited until this morning to tell me that James is now a Beater for the Slytherin team." 

"Isn't that cheating?" Doug asked. "I mean, shouldn't there be a twenty-four hour warning or something?" 

Harry looked at him thoughtfully. "Yes. There should be a warning period. Then again, we should also have red cards in this game." 

"What's a red card?" Becky asked. 

While the others were explaining the muggle world to Becky, Lily pulled her scarlet robe over her head. 

"Okay, people," Melissa said, swinging her broom over her shoulder. The rest of the team sat down expectantly. "It's a new year, a new trophy. We haven't won for two or three years, but this time things are different." Everyone looked at each other and then to Lily, who blushed fiercely. 

"All I'm asking is that we go out there, and we win by a few hundred points," Melissa said slowly. 

Kevin's jaw dropped. "That's all you're asking?" 

Chris shrugged. "At least she didn't ask for a kiss from me like last year. Now that would have been impossible." 

Melissa glared at them. "Enough of that. Come on. Let's go out there and-" 

"Kick some slithering Slytherin butt!" shouted Peter Hamfrog, a boy who had grown up with muggle parents. 

The others laughed. 

* * * 

The entire Gryffindor team recieved a surprise when they walked onto the field. Charlie Brunsley, the Slytherins' team captain, was beaming with pride as he waved to James, who was holding his broomstick and looking at them with an evil grin. 

"This is our new Beater," he told the Gryffindors. "I believe you know him," he told Lily, sizing her up. Melissa and the twins moved slightly to stand in between Lily and Charlie. 

"Why didn't you bring this up sooner?" Melissa asked angrily. 

Charlie shrugged. "Didn't have to." 

Professor Wood stepped in. "All right, guys. Game time. Mount your brooms, and when I blow the whistle, go." 

Everyone mounted his or her broom. James gave Lily a meaningful look as Wood blew the whistle. Lily went straight up into the air, looking for any sign of the Snitch. James went looking for the nearest Bludger. 

For a long time, not much happened. From listening to the commentator, Howard Smith (a Hufflepuff), Lily knew that the Gryffindors were ahead by nearly three hundred points. She had also noticed that the Slytherins were beginning to get a bit nasty. 

The first time James had hit a Bludger, he had sent it straight at Lily's head. Just like the cherry bombs, she had dodged it easily and had even had time to say hello to Kevin, who had come speeding after it. The second time James hit a Bludger, she had said hello to Chris. Each time James hit a Bludger her way, she had a small conversation with one of the twins if they had time. Still, she was getting edgy. Neither she nor Andrew Flint, the Slytherin Seeker, had seen the Snitch the entire game. They passed each other in the air from time to time, and eventually Lily had managed to have the two of them on speaking terms, although they both made it perfectly clear that no matter what, they would each try to beat each other to the Snitch. 

After an hour of flying around, chatting from time to time, and dodging Bludgers, Lily finally saw the Golden Snitch. She dived. 

Almost frantic, Andrew tried to see what she was looking at. He dived also, but she was on a Lightyear 5000, not a Lightning 500 like Andrew. To her understanding, that make had come out years ago. She was almost there 200 feet away and quickly closing the gap. She fell 100 feet. 

In a moment, the Snitch was flying away. Lily turned to chase after it and crashed into something. The wind knocked out of her, she started to slip off of her broom. Kevin and Chris finally floated over and helped her to climb back on. Blushing furiously, she thanked them and looked to see what she had crashed into. It was James, who was looking quite pleased with himself. 

She looked to Andrew, hoping he hadn't reached the Snitch. He understood and grinned, showing her his hands. He pointed at James, shrugged, and flew away. She thanked the twins again, glared at James, and set off. 

Howard Smith was having a field day with the commentary. "An obvious attempt to apparently slaughter-" Hermione glared at him. Immediately, he went on with the pure facts, although Lily heard him refer to the "open attempt to murder the Gryffindor Seeker" many more times throughout the game. She went back to floating above the stands and looking for a sign of the Snitch. 

She was only slightly comforted by Harry, Ron, Hagrid, Neville, and the others booing the Slytherins. She was surprised to find that even the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws were doing the same. 

Finally, she spotted it again. This time, she didn't dive for it, as she had before. She slowly circled above it and floated downwards. The Snitch was floating right by Professor Wood, an inch or two away from his head. She swooped down when she was about two feet away and gracefully reached for it. She felt another hit from the side and lost her grip on her broom. Luckily, she was only about ten feet above the ground. She fell and slowed down before hitting the ground thanks to a spell some generous soul had worked. She looked up at James, who was glaring at her. Lily grinned and showed him and Professor Wood her hand, in which was the Golden Snitch. 

Before she knew it, someone had handed Lily her broom, and the entire Gryffindor team had landed and were cheering. Howard announced the score: Slytherin: 200, Gryffindor: 560. 

"Party in the Gryffindor Common Room!" Melissa shouted. 

Lily turned away, grinning, and was faced with Harry. He hugged her, and she instantly remembered that this was the first hug she had ever gotten from her father that she could remember. 

"Good job," he said to her. 

"Are you coming to the party?" she asked, slightly choked up. She turned away and coughed so he wouldn't notice. 

He nodded. "Sure. I've got a few of my own Quidditch stories to tell, you know. Did Becky tell you about the time I caught the Snitch by swallowing it?" 

Lily shook her head. 

"Well, it was a match against Slytherin, much like this one, and..." 

* * * 

However, the Gryffindors' triumph over Slytherin did not help the search for a cure. It was nearly Christmas, and Lily, Doug, and Becky had been through almost every book in the library. The only books left were the ones in the restricted section. 

"One of these days," Lily said, "we'll have to get in there." 

Becky motioned to Madam Pince. "You're the brain. Figure out how to get rid of the teachers first, though. That's probably the best way to do things." 

Lily's eyes lit up. 

Becky sat up quickly. "Oh no." She hit Doug, who was looking at a Quidditch rule book, hard in the arm. "She's got that look." 

"What look?" Doug asked, apparently seeing nothing in Lily's eyes that made him think of whatever Becky was thinking. 

"The look that says she has a plan." 

Doug thought and then looked at Lily. "Next week is Christmas, though. Can't it want until then?" 

Lily pondered about this. "Might as well," she said with a shrug. "I've got the basic idea of what I want to do, but I have to figure out the first part." 

Becky sighed in relief; Doug went back to reading his book. Lily started working on a paper for Charms. 

None of them noticed that James had come into the library, looking for a book to do the same Charms report that Lily was working on. So the Gryffindors wanted to get into the restricted section of the library. Professor Malfoy would be glad to hear that. 

* * * 

Lily and the others had to wait until Christmas before any of them could do anything. A gift or two would make all the difference at Hogwarts... 


	13. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 13

You know the drill. Most of the characters were created by J.K. Rowling. The rest are mine- Sorry if some of them are a bit off the rocker, round the bend, all that jazz. Anyway, Copyright 2000. Please read and review. 

Chapter 14- Gifts and Questions Answered 

On Christmas morning, Lily took her time waking up. Two weeks ago, Hermione had passed out a paper to sign if anyone was staying at Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays. Lily, Becky, and Doug had signed up immediately- none of them were in a great hurry rush home. Becky's reason was that she was already home, which Lily supposed went for her, too. She felt more at home at Hogwarts than she ever had at the Dursleys. Doug's reason, probably, was because he didn't seem to like his mom that much. 

Lily slowly opened her eyes and looked around, where newly fallen snow had layered itself on the windowsill in the girls' dormitory, and hers was the only bed occupied in the room. She sighed and sat up. Becky was with her father, and Doug was the only other Gryffindor in the Gryffindor house. She struggled out of bed, looking forward to the Christmas feast later that day. Becky and the others had raved about it to her for the past month. 

As she walked to get some clothes out of her trunk, she hit her shin against something. She jumped back and fell onto her bed, rubbing the sore spot. Cautiously, she looked at the culprit, and was to find that it was culprits- with an "S." There was a pile of boxes at the foot of her bed on her trunk. There were more presents here for her than she had ever seen in her life! 

She picked up the first and looked at it. The tag read "To: Lily From: Becky." It had been wrapped in The Daily Prophet newspaper, and she could see a bit of people and things moving in the pictures. She unwrapped it hurriedly, yet careful not to tear the paper. She realized with a start that she had become one of those people who cherished every memory. 

She looked at what fell out. A SpinMaster 05. She creased her brows and looked at it curiously. 

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" someone behind her shouted. Lily turned and saw Becky in the doorway, with a sleepy-looking Doug behind her, rubbing his eyes and dragging behind him his blanket and pillow. He shoved past Becky and stumbled over to Lily's bed. 

"'Ry Christmas," he said as he started to go back to sleep on her bed. 

"Same to you, Bright Eyes," Lily retorted. 

Doug sighed as he managed to sit up. He pointed at Becky, irritated. "Her fault," he explained. "She woke me up just so we could come in here and watch you open presents." 

"Well, gee," Becky said sarcastically. "I'm sorry for being nice. Go on, Lily. What did you get?" 

Lily held up Becky's gift to her. "What is this?" she asked. 

Becky took it from her, a childish delight shining in her eyes. "It's a SpinMaster- 05 version. See, watch this." She set it on the floor and pulled a string. They watched as the SpinMaster began to spin, gaining speed as it went. It started to float into the air before it slowed down and fell to the ground. Becky shrugged. "I've never been much good with these things. Supposedly, if you do it right, it'll float up into the air. You're supposed to compete and see who can keep theirs in the air the longest. I've heard they can stay up in the air as long as an hour. So I've heard," she repeated, disgusted with how high and how long hers had stayed in the air. 

"What did you get?" Lily asked. 

"Stop trying to change the subject and open the others," Becky ordered. 

Lily opened Doug's next. "It isn't much," Doug said with a shrug. "Just something from the muggle world. Lily ripped off the paper- yet still keeping it relatively in tact. In front of her was a copy of Sports Illustrated. 

Until then, Lily hadn't realized how much she had missed the muggle world. But seeing the man on the cover playing football, she immediately changed her mind and thanked Doug until Becky rudely told her to stop and open the rest of the presents. It seemed that here, on Christmas morning, things were much as they were back with the Dursleys, except without Shelton and Pernella opening their gifts and tossing them away just as quickly. 

Hermione had given her an astrology kit. If the others set it up right, Lily might never have another astrology lesson ever again- if she could talk Professor Nadim into letting her off the hook. 

Ron had given her cherry bombs to throw at his nephews if Lily felt they needed it. 

Neville had given her candy- Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, to be exact. They were pretty good until Doug found a mothball-flavored one. 

Hagrid had given her a book about dragons and a bunch of other magical creatures. 

"Open this one," Becky prodded her when Lily started to look at the pictures. 

She obeyed. 

This one was from Harry, and the second she undid the strings- which she thought was merely part of the wrapping, and not the wrapping itself- a puddle of water slid across her lap and lay on the floor. Lily, slightly confused, picked the "puddle" up. 

"It's an Invisibility Cloak," Becky explained, both confused and excited. "Hurry and put it on- it's supposed to make you invisible. So I've heard, at least." 

Lily grinned and found the opening. She slipped it over her head. Becky gasped. Doug, who had fallen asleep again, mumbled again and opened his eyes a bit. He saw Lily and shouted before falling off the bed, waving his arms wildly. 

"DOUG! CALM DOWN!" Becky shouted at him. "It's JUST an Invisibility Cloak!" 

"It's just her HEAD floating in midair!" he retorted, trying unsuccessfully to calm down. 

Lily grinned and went over to the mirror, wondering if she was really invisible. She looked at her head, seemingly floating in midair- just as Doug had said- and gasped. She couldn't see anything below her neck. She looked down at herself and turned from the mirror, possibly thinking that her reflection was tricking her. Just to prove its innocence, the reflection of Lily stuck its tongue out at her as soon as she had turned around. 

Lily looked down at the floor. Slowly, she reached to touch the floor with an invisible hand- only to hit something. She stood up slowly. She'd never seen magic like this, and she had never dreamed of becoming invisible. 

"Try the hood on," Becky urged. 

Lily obeyed and slipped the hood over her head as she turned. As she turned back to the mirror, her reflection immediately pulled its tongue back in and turned with her, slightly pouting. Lily finished pulling the hood over her head. Now she was completely invisible- she could see right past herself and see where Becky and Doug were goggling at the mirror. 

Girl! Brownie's voice called. Take that thing off this instant and come here. You're acting like a robin, you know. Always trying to get what you can't have! 

Lily sighed and took off the Cloak, explaining to Doug and Becky about Brownie as she folded it up. 

They nodded, completely understanding. 

Lily sat on her bed and placed her hand on her bedside table so Brownie could climb on. The spider did so quickly. 

Merry Christmas, she said grumpily. 

"Merry Christmas to you, too," Lily said in English so Becky and Doug could understand as well. She repeated it in Areanatu. 

Don't repeat yourself, girl, Brownie said grouchily. I can understand English just as well as you can. 

Although Lily doubted that greatly, she kept it to herself. Instead she asked politely, "How are you?" 

What? Brownie asked. 

Lily sighed and looked to Becky and Doug. They looked at each other and then left the room, apparently thinking the conversation was private. Lily hadn't meant to chase them off, but they wouldn't be able to understand the conversation anyway, so it was probably for the best. 

How are you? Lily repeated in Areanatu. 

Fine, thank you. 

Lily's brow creased. Before she could help herself, she whispered, Manners? From you? 

Yes, girl, Brownie said as she waved her arms menacingly at Lily. What? Did you think that I was rude? Lily stuttered as she tried to find a suitable yet still honest answer. Brownie finally sighed. That woman Hermione has been talking about manners in Harry's office. I knew I would pay for eavesdropping! Human manners seep in for me after being around you for so long! 

What's that supposed to mean? Lily asked. 

Brownie sighed again. That's what your Christmas gift is, actually. I told you about the Webs, correct? 

Lily nodded. 

Well, a long time ago, a spell was recorded. You know how those grown humans you spend so much time with can turn into animals of choice? Well, with this spell, you will be able to turn into a spider. After all, you do speak Areanatu. 

Do I have to pick a certain word? Lily asked. If she had to pick a certain word which she could only pick to turn into a spider, she didn't know which one she would choose. It would have to be one she would only speak to turn into a spider, so it couldn't be one which she would say often... 

Brownie laughed. No. You turn into a spider merely by wanting to be a spider. You turn back into a human by wanting to be a human. 

Lily thanked Brownie emphatically. Imagine! She could actually turn into a spider just by simply wanting to! Then an embarrassing thought occurred to her, and she felt herself blush crimson. 

When I change back, Lily asked,will I still have clothes? 

Brownie laughed. A short distance away, Lily could hear spiders nearby also laughing. Why do you care? Brownie asked. I don't know why humans even wear those things! 

Lily's face drained of its color in the time it took for a street magician to flick his or her wrist. 

Brownie stopped laughing and looked up at her. Yes, girl. You will have those useless webs wrapped around you when you turn into a human again. 

Lily thanked her again. You never told me what you wanted for Christmas, she pointed out. 

Brownie turned around and marched off her hand, heading for the crack in the wall. Spiders have all they need, she said as she disappeared into depths of Hogwarts. 

Someone knocked on the door softly. 

"It's all right," Lily said. "Come in." 

The door opened and Becky stuck her head through. "Time for food," she said with a grin. "Interested?" 

Lily nodded emphatically and raced after Becky and Doug as they ran for the Great Hall. 

She was surprised at how many people had stayed from other houses. Twelve were in Ravenclaw, six in Hufflepuff, and five in Slytherin, James being among them. All the teachers had stayed and were sitting in their usual seats at their table, but these weren't the teachers Lily usually saw in all her classes or on the grounds. They were all... happy. Jovial, even. Lily watched as Hagrid pulled a bottle of eggnog out of his pocket and took a deep sip. Hermione saw him and tried to snatch it away, laughing. 

The other kids at other tables were eating like machines, stuffing as much as they could into their mouths. Lily saw the food appear on their plates and wasn't in the least surprised. It looked delicious. She grabbed a piece of roasted turkey and dug into it. Halfway through, she slowed down. The food did taste good, but it didn't taste good enough to make her or Becky and Doug eat the way the others were. Soup had eaten like that, and now he was in the infirmary- 

It finally dawned on Lily. She got up and ran to the teachers' table. 

Hermione and Hagrid stopped fighting over the eggnog and looked up at her. 

"What is it, Lily?" Hermione asked. 

"It's the Twick, Hermione," Lily said breathlessly. 

"The Twick?" the older woman repeated. 

Lily took a hurried frustrated sigh and explained how everyone called it the Twick because Soup had always gone around saying, "Twick or Tweat"- and the mysterious illness most certainly hadn't been a treat. Then she explained how everyone was eating just like they had on Halloween. 

By the time she was through, all the teachers were listening. 

Immediately, Harry started giving orders. Lily, however, was forced to miss the action when Harry told her to go with Becky and Doug back to the Gryffindor House. Lily gave another frustrated sigh and spun on her heels, slightly angry that she wouldn't be able to do more. She risked a look at the Slytherin table and saw James sipping sparkling white grape juice, unconcerned with everything going on around him. 

Lily pursed her lips together and went to the Gryffindor common room with Becky and Doug. 

* * * 

"Hermione," Harry instructed, "you get some other teachers and round up all the kids who are eating like that. Hagrid, Neville, you two search the grounds- see if anyone's about. Malfoy, you go tell Madam Pomfrey. Ron and I and some other teachers will start the freezing spells in the infirmary. We'll have to get the spells first, but we'll meet you there." 

"Harry," Hermione interrupted softly. 

"Yes?" 

"These are all half-bloods." 

"So?" 

"We'll have nearly less than a third of the school left. Especially if this happens again while the rest of the school is here. We need to find a cure." 

"We'll work on it, Hermione. But right now, these kids need to get to the infirmary." 

Ron cleared his throat as he rubbed his wand. "I don't know about you guys, but I think maybe it might be dangerous to let the kids come back after Christmas holidays." 

Harry didn't say anything. He simply led the teachers to his office for the spell. 

* * * 

Lily threw off her sweater in the common room. 

"There goes another group of kids to the infirmary," Doug said slowly. 

"We need to do something!" Lily shouted, nearly in hysterics. 

"We need a plan," Becky reminded her. 

"I'm working on it," Lily said. "I know how to get to the library without being noticed, but it would take forever. Even longer to find the right book." She explained about Brownie's gift. 

When she was done, Becky laughed. The laugh hinted that she had already lost hope about finding a cure. "If you got another gift like that one," Becky told her, "we'd be in business." 

"That's it!" Lily shouted joyfully. 

Becky and Doug looked at her. 

"Don't you see? I wasn't done opening the presents!" 

"How many presents did you get?" Doug asked as Lily raced up the stairs. 

Lily's laugh floated back down to them. "A lot." 

Before Becky and Doug could climb the stairs, Lily came back down, waving a sheet of parchment. "Look at this!" she shouted at them. 

"What is it?" Becky asked as Lily smoothed the parchment on the table. 

"It's a map. And watch this." She took out her wand and gave the map a quick tap, thinking of the spiders. Immediately, the map was zoomed into by the trio, who could suddenly see all the pipes and cracks a spider might use to get around Hogwarts. 

Lily traced a path with her wand. It went from the Gryffindor House to the library. 

"The teachers are all busy now," she said slowly. "The ghosts probably are, too. Which means that no one will hear the books scream- if we're lucky." 

"You're forgetting something," Doug pointed out. 

"What?" 

"We can't turn into spiders." 

Becky nodded in agreement. 

Lily looked up at them. Then we can't do this, can we? I mean, they'll see us unless we're really small. Not all the ghosts are in the infirmary, I'll bet. Like I said, only if we're lucky..." 

"So? Go on without us," Becky urged. "We don't mind. After all, the cure is more important." 

"Are you guys sure?" Lily asked slowly. She didn't want to leave them behind, but they did have a point. She studied their faces as they nodded. They seemed to really think that she should go alone. She nodded to herself. "I'll wear my Invisibility Cloak. That way, when I'm human again, no one will be able to see me." 

She went and got the Cloak, pulled on the hood. She closed her eyes and thought about spiders. 

Suddenly, her eyes were wide open. She was looking up at Becky and Doug from the floor. She marveled at how much they looked like giants from down here. They were larger than three Hagrids! And if she saw Hagrid from this height... Her head spun just thinking about it. 

Becky got down on hands and knees and stuck her nose in Lily's face. "Oh, there you are," she said amiably. 

"That was cool," Doug said, looking at Lily in a small, slight state of shock. 

Lily, who had memorized the map, crawled under the floor boards and started her way to the library. 

It didn't take her nearly as long as she had thought it would. Within no time at all, she was staring up at miles of books and tables all around her. Quickly, Lily looked for Madam Pince. Not seeing her, she used the spider's sense of vibrations. No one was here. Juding from the faint vibrations, they were at least two floors away. She thought about being a human and suddenly found herself looking at the books in front of her from a normal height. 

Immediately, Lily missed the feeling of being a spider. The certainty, the movements of the legs, being able to see in all directions at once. "Hearing" vibrations. 

Lily sighed and walked to the Restricted Section, intent on looking back on being a spider later and getting the job done quickly. 

She looked at the rows of books and finally pulled out a faded red book with a rubbed-away gold "V" at one end. 

"Please don't scream," she asked quietly. 

She pulled the book open, her eyes squeezed shut. Hearing nothing, she opened her eyes and looked at the book. Instantly, the book chuckled in the low voice from her dream- the voice that had killed her mother and tried to kill her father. She dropped the book and fell, scrabbling away from it as quickly as she could. Blocked against the wall, she stopped and stared at the book, which had closed itself. She breathed deeply. 

"You'll never be able to help anybody if you don't find out about the cause," she told herself crossly. "Now stop sitting here like a coward and do something!" 

Taking another dep breath, she crept towards the book and quickly opened it, hastily crawling backwards as she did so. She didn't hear any more laughing. Cautiously, she crawled back to the book and looked at the first page. She started to read. 

A few hours later, Lily's eyes came back into focus, and she closed the book, feeling- no, knowing- that she now had the information she needed. 

She put the book back in its place and walked out of the Restricted Section. She changed into a spider and went back to the Gryffindor Common room, briefly wondering if anyone would be angry that a Hogwarts first-year had found the cure for the Twick. 


	14. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 14

Most of these characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The rest are mine. Copyright 2000 

Author's Note: Sorry for the mispelled (misspelled/ mycpeled) words in this story. I'm typing really fast so I can finish it! 

Chapter Fifteen- Voldemort 

Lily didn't waste time going to the Gryffindor House where Becky and Doug were waiting for her impatiently. She wanted Soup and the other kids back as soon as possible. She went straight to Harry's office. 

"Mars Bars," she told the gargoyle. He nodded and let her past. To the staircase, Lily said, "Make it fast, George. I think I know the cure," and then held on for dear life as George twisted wildly upwards. She stepped off onto the platform, dizzy. 

"I need to get in, Fred." 

Fred shook his head. "Can't let you in without permission, kid. Sorry, but that's just the way things are." 

"Fred," Lily said firmly, only slightly imitating Hermione, "I know the cure. Now let me pass." 

Fred shook his head. "Permission," he repeated. 

Lily shook her head and then shouted "HARRY!" as loudly as she could. 

Harry immediately opened the door and pushed his glasses onto his nose again. Seeing that it was Lily, he smoothed down his bangs. "What is it, Lily?" 

"May I come in?" Lily asked, indicating Fred. 

"Yes, of course. Come in." 

"Permission granted," Fred said with an evil grin. He held the door open for Lily and closed it after she had gone in. 

"What is it, Lily?" Harry repeated. 

"I think I found a cure for the Twick." 

Harry nearly shoved a paperweight shaped like an eagle off his desk. The eagle shrieked its protest and hopped back onto the papers it had been sitting on. 

"A cure for the Twick?" Harry stuttered. 

"Yes." 

"What is it?" 

"Well, you know how in your second year here, the Chamber of Secrets was opened and the basilisk came out and froze people?" Harry nodded. "You used Mandrake plants." Harry nodded again. "Well, Voldemort was obsessed with those plants- actually, a kind of plant that was a relative of theirs, the Quintessa. You know, it jumps a lot, likes to hide, looks like a perfectly ordinary plant but acts... like a... child..." She slowed down as she saw Harry staring at her. She took off again at warp speed. "In his biography in the library, it says that he found out how to use Mandrake to make people sick, too. He extended it to the Quintessa plants, because those are a lot harder to find and add flavor when you slip it into your victims' food. They eat so much of the plant that it becomes harmful. Anyway, all you need to do to heal them is mix the Quintessa plants with a Phoenix's tears." Lily looked beseechingly to Fawkes, who squawked his will to volunteer to donate tears. He shoved a bowl in from Harry's kitchen and immediately started pouring tears. 

Harry watched Fawkes as he did all this. "How do you know all this?" he asked Lily. 

"A book in the library. Don't tell, but it was in the Restricted Section." Lily briefly marveled at how she could tell Harry, the Headmaster, not to tell she had done something wrong. "There's another book in the library that says you're my father. I mean, I already knew, but it says why you had to give us up." 

Harry cringed involuntarily. "I'm sorry about that. I had hoped you would be safe. Dudley would have kept you safe from Voldemort since Voldemort thinks I would never send my own children there. I had a tough time there, but I figured you would be okay. But my cousin, I hear, was worse than he was years ago..." 

He looked at Lily, who was rubbing her wand. 

She swallowed. "Right. I wanted to talk to you about that, too. Um. I was wondering... I mean, Voldemort has already found us, right? So it couldn't possibly hurt if we stayed..." 

Harry thought and finally nodded. Lily released the gigantic breath she had been holding. Harry grinned at her. I'll call Ron and Hermione and tell them everything- the cure and the plans for you and James staying here. If they protest, I'll make Hermione ride a broom in front of the entire student body and make Ron clean the entire school without magic." 

Lily beamed at him. 

"You'd better go. Tell the kids in the school who are still here, and I'll get everything ready with the teachers, all right?" 

Lily nodded. "Can I pack up my stuff, too? I don't have much, it's just that..." 

"You want to move in," Harry finished for her. Lily nodded. "Trust me, I know the feeling. I'll drop by after I'm done here and help. I'll tell Malfoy to tell James, too." 

"Thanks," Lily said. 

Harry grinned at her. "Hey, I'm not the one who figured out the cure." 

Lily blushed and set out. On the way down the hall, she saw Hermione and Ron nearly run into each other as they told the gargoyle the password and dashed up the stairs. 

She started telling the portraits as she went about the cure, but didn't mention her moving in with her father. She was almost giddy with the thought. Finally! She wouldn't have to stay with the Dursleys! She was free at last! No more doing all the chores and the schoolwork. No more trying to hide from Pernella while her huge monster of a cousin chased her with her group of friends! 

Lily heard a noise behind her which snapped her out of her trance. She looked around. She wasn't close the Gryffindor House yet. She turned to see if there was anything behind her. Her brow creased. She didn't see anyone. She looked at the stone statue of Wendelyn the Weird. From behind it, a shadow moved. 

Lily jumped back and snapped her wand out of her robes. 

James laughed. "Easy, little sis." 

Lily relaxed a little and even lowered her wand a little- but just a little. 

"What are you doing here, James? We're supposed to be in our common rooms." 

"One: Supposed to be. Two: You aren't in your common room, either." 

Lily lowered her wand and stood straight again. "I had to talk to Harry." 

"What about?" 

"None of your business." Lily, however, remembered suddenly that she and James were going to move in with Harry. That was James's business. "Actually, I told him that we knew he was our father. We're moving in with him." 

James laughed. "I'm not moving in with him." 

Lily gaped at him. 

James sighed and looked at her as if she were a small muggle child who didn't understand she couldn't fly. "Lily, Lily, Lily," he said pitifully. He put his arm around her back. "There are still some things out there that you are too young for." 

"We're the same age!" Lily retorted. 

"Oh, no. You're brother and yourself are the same age, but I am much, much older." 

Lily tried to draw away from James. What was her brother talking about? The arm tightened. After a few moments, Lily found that the arm wouldn't let her reach for her wand, either. She stopped struggling and looked at James. She looked at him and studied his face, eyes, stance, everything. His eyes were harder, older. His face was whiter. His stance was stronger, more certain. This wasn't her brother. "Who are you?" Lily asked slowly. 

James, or at least the person holding her, grinned widely. "I," he said with a great air of dignity, "am Voldemort." 

"Volde-" Lily shouted in shock. 

She didn't finish the name. 

Voldemort took out James's wand and said a word. 

Lily didn't even know what had happened. The only thing she remembered later was that suddenly, all the lights went out. She was unconscious before she hit the floor. 

* * * 

"Okay," Harry began as the teachers in his office stopped talking and waited expectantly. Hermione and Ron glanced from Fawkes, who was still crying into the bowl, to Harry, asking for an answer although they spoke no words. Harry responded with a look that told them to wait. 

"We have found an cure for the illness, which is also known for the cure." 

The teachers, including Ron and Hermione, looked at each other like idiots. A few gasped in joy and surprise. A split second later, however, questions erupted from every corner of the room. "Woodrow," Harry said to Professor Nadim, "please go with Professor Hepatica and get together some Quintessa plants. Get some other teachers to help you brew those together with Fawkes's tears." Everyone looked again at Fawkes, who was now on his third bowl, still bawling nonstop. "Well?" Harry asked, looking at them as if they were idiots. 

Immediately, everyone in the office made a rush for the stairs. "Ron? Hermione? Malfoy? Could you three stay behind, please?" 

As everyone else left, the three teachers stayed behind. Ron and Hermione sat down in plush seats comfortably, only with a slight glance at the last teacher in the room. Malfoy swayed unconsciously on his feet, snickering slightly, but unsure of why he had been told to stay behind. The last time Harry had told him to stay behind for a talk, Fawkes had attacked him.Ron had entered the Great Hall flapping his arms ever since until a year ago. 

Malfoy and Harry didn't have many private discussions. 

Harry sat back down at his desk and looked at Malfoy in the eyes. "James is moving in with me tonight." 

"What! Harry-" Hermione started as she jumped out of her chair. 

Harry held up his hand to stop her. He was grinning slightly even as he made the announcement. "Lily is, too. She visited me today. She's the one who told me what the cure was." 

"You believe a first year would possess that knowledge?" Malfoy sneered. 

Harry nodded calmly. "You have to admit, Malfoy. Lily hasn't made one mistake yet. She's smart. She's memorized those books- at least that's what I've heard..." He looked at Malfoy over the rim of his glasses, a move which never failed to tick Malfoy off. He seemed to be looking for confirmation. Malfoy nodded slightly, glaring at all of them. 

"Plus, she looked in his autobiography." 

"That's against the rules!" Malfoy cried out. "That book is in the Restricted Section!" 

"Yes, but I think we'll have to be a bit lenient, seeing as how no one else thought to check the book." 

"And why should they?" sneered Malfoy. "That book doesn't have any information we don't know in it. I've looked through in. Some others have. There was nothing in the book to-" 

Hermione's brow was creased. She interrupted Malfoy. "What did the book say?" 

Malfoy grinned and chuckled maliciously. "It was a joke. It said, 'Born on a day, killed many, but never died.' I flipped through every page, and each page said the same thing- except the last one." 

"What did that say?" Hermione asked anxiously. Harry and Ron exchanged glances, knowing that Hermione must be onto something and not wanting to break her chain of thought. 

"It said, 'Try and get me.'" 

"Lily said-" Harry stuttered, determined to say that Lily had been telling the truth. Malfoy must be lying! He must! 

Hermione glanced at him. "You're going to hate me for saying this, Harry, but I think Lily was tricked." 

"How so?" 

"Voldemort probably possesses the book. He enchanted it, that's for sure. I'll bet he told Lily the right cure. That's how he is when he wants something." 

"Wants something?" Ron repeated. 

Hermione nodded. Malfoy's eyes became jumpy and rested on Harry at brief intervals before springing around the office again as the realization dawned on them. 

"Harry," Hermione said softly, "Voldemort's trying to kill you. Again." 

Harry settled back into his chair, grim. "Hermione, Malfoy, get James here. He'll probably try to take either James or Lily as bait as he did with Ginny. Ron and I will get Lily." 

Hermione for once managed to hide her disgust at having to work with Malfoy and nodded. Malfoy did the same. 

Ron glared at them. "He already has James- Don't you see?" he asked them irately. 

"What?" Harry asked. 

"James. His character changed, remember? When we met him, he was just like Lily. And then when we went shopping in Diagon Alley, he changed. He became vain, arrogant, cruel, plotting- Everything that Voldemort was." 

The others stared at him blankly, another, deeper, more awful realization growing in their eyes. 

"Don't you see?" Ron shouted at them. "He's been here the entire time. He's IN JAMES!" 

"Hermione," Harry rushed. "Are you sure Voldemort gave Lily the right cure?" 

Hermione nodded. "He wants you right now. Once you're out of the way, then he can start with the muggle-borns and half-bloods." 

Harry nodded. "Right. Hermione, Malfoy, go and get James. NOW!" he shouted as them as they hesitated. They disappered from the office in a rush, screaming at George not to stop and make them fall or else Hermione would blow him to pieces. 

Harry looked to Ron. "We've go to get Lily," he said desperately. 

Ron nodded. "We're in trouble, Harry," he said matter-of-factly. 

"I know," Harry said as he started running. 

By the time they reached the Gryffindor House, their faces were red, and they were out of breath. 

The Fat Lady looked at them, shocked. 

"Please," Harry told her. "Has Lily been in here?" 

"Lily? No. She hasn't come out, either, though. I think she's still inside." The Fat Lady opened the door behind her and gestured for them to go in. 

Ron thanked her as Harry dashed through. 

Only Doug and Becky were in the room, bored and on the point of falling asleep. 

"Where's Lily?" Harry nearly screamed at them. They jumped. 

"Uh," Becky began. Her mind, however, had frozen. She had never seen Harry scream. Or shout. Or even yell unless he was cheering for the Quidditch teams. 

"Where is she?" Ron asked, much more calmly than Harry. 

"She-" Doug attempted, but he couldn't find any lie to cover up for the fact Lily had gone to the Restricted Section of the library in the shape of a spider. 

"It's important," Harry begged them. 

Ron explained about Voldemort. 

When he was done, Becky swallowed. She explained about the Christmas gifts from Harry- the Invisibility Cloak (Ron had glared at Harry, surprised, and then had understood, or at least seemed to.). And then Becky explained about Lily's plan and Becky's gift that enabled her turn into a spider herself. Doug and Becky hadn't seen her since the end of the Banquet. 

Harry stood in the common room, in shock. James and Lily! How could he have let this happen to them? He should have seen! 

"There is one other thing," Doug said after a few moments. He seemed surprised to hera himself speak when everyone turned to look at him. He cleared his throat nervously. "Those papers to my mum. They were to her and... someone else." 

He looked at Ron, Harry, and Becky. 

"Those letters were also to Voldemort." 


	15. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 15

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling was the creator of most of the wonderful characters. The pitiful other characters you find here are mine. Sorry this came out so late. And sorry that it's too late at night to have a joke. Hope the spelling's okay. Copyright 200. I mean- Copyright 2000. 

__________ 

Chapter 16 ~ Chamber of Secrets 

"What?" Harry asked dimly. 

"What?" Ron echoed. 

"Huh?" Becky asked dumbly. 

"The parchments and quills were spelled. I had to write down everything I had found out, what was going on. How everyone was reacting to certain things- like James and Lily." His eyes grew to three times their normal size. "I didn't mean to!" he stuttered. "I couldn't help it! I'd never turn in Lily on purpose! I'd never want to! I mean, I didn't want to! And I didn't want that to happen to Soup, either!" 

"How did you get in contact with Voldemort?" Ron asked. Harry collapsed into a chair nearby, and Becky stayed where she was, still staring at Doug with the same blank expression. 

"My mum." 

"What?" Harry asked. 

"What?" Ron echoed. 

"Huh?" Becky asked feebly. She face was pure white by now. 

"I don't know how she got in contact with him, but I think she's known about him for a long time." 

"No wonder," Ron muttered as he sank into a chair. 

"Excuse me?" Harry asked, incredulous. 

"In Diagon Alley, I kept hearing her talk about Voldemort and other things involving the wizarding world. I thought that perhaps Neville had filled her in, but now that I think of it, he would have never mentioned Voldemort's name." 

They sat in silence for a while in shock. Becky managed to squeak another "Huh?" towards the end. 

"So Voldemort was here the entire time," Harry spat. 

Ron nodded silently. Doug looked down at his feet. 

Suddenly, the door opened, and Hermione and Malfoy rushed in. "Harry!" Hermione shouted. "James is missing." 

"So is Lily. It was Voldemort, Hermione. He was here the entire time, and we never even knew." Harry went on to explain about the letters from Doug to his mum and Voldemort. 

"May I see the parchment and quills?" Hermione inquired. 

Doug nodded and ran to get some of the spares he had kept. Within a few seconds, he was back. He handed the objects to Hermione, who sat down with them and started muttering over them with her wand. 

Finally, she looked up. "He's right. These things were spelled. He couldn't resist writing, telling the truth, and he couldn't tell anyone about it. I could find out more, but I'd need time and the laboratory." 

"Then how come he told us?" Becky asked. 

Hermione smiled crookedly. "I think Voldemort keeps making the same mistake. Love can do a lot." 

"I don't love Lily!" Doug nearly shouted quickly. 

Ron and Harry looked at each other, but they couldn't resist small grins. 

"Of course you don't, dear," Hermione said, imitating Madam Pomfrey. She grinned at Doug to show she was kidding. "That isn't the only kind of love, Doug." 

"And I can assure you," Harry spoke up, "that even if you and Lily did love each other in 'that way,' I'm not going to let her out of the house for centuries after this, and it'll be longer until she starts dating." 

Malfoy cleared his throat. "I think the Wonder Team is making plans for a future that may or may not be there." 

Everyone stared at him in disbelief, disbelief that not only they hadn't been worrying about Lily, but that they had been making plans for her future while she was in Voldemort's hands, and the fact that Malfoy had been the one to speak up about it. 

"What?" Malfoy asked irately. "It's true. Don't you think we should get those two away from Voldemort first?" He cleared his throat loudly as he realized he had said "we." 

"Are you saying that you want to help us?" Harry asked slowly. 

Malfoy wrung his hands around his wand. "Not exactly- Well, maybe. I think so, but then again... I think..." 

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other. They quickly looked away, not wanting Malfoy to see how shocked they were. It was common knowledge that Malfoy's family had fought with Voldemort, but Malfoy seemed to be offering to fight against him. 

Becky jumped up from where she was sitting. "The spiders!" she shouted. 

Everyone looked to the wall she was pointing at. Spiders were indeed crawling through the cracks and covering everything. Ron and Malfoy moved back a few steps unconsciously. 

Becky walked closer to the wall until she picked out Brownie. She tried to remember the Areanatu she had learned from Lily and Brownie. 

Hello, she said in halting Areanatu. 

Girl, keep your day job, Brownie recommended. Becky, however, didn't hear her. The girl's ears weren't sharp enough to catch it. 

"What is she saying?" everyone behind her asked at once. 

"I don't know," Becky said irritably. "I can't hear her, anyway." 

Brownie thought hard. She needed a way to speak to them, but they couldn't hear her. The spiders knew where Lily and James were, but these humans were too deaf. Athena curse them! 

Suddenly, though, Brownie had an idea. She called to the other spiders and watched, slightly pleased although it wasn't the proper time for it, that Malfoy jumped onto the couch and tried to use Ron as a wall. Ron pulled him off the couch and jumped on himself. 

Brownie gave instructions and directed as four rows of spiders, varying in color and size, formed a straight line. She slowly directed the ends of the line to curve together. 

"O?" Harry asked. 

Brownie shook her head and directed the ends of the lines to pull apart a little. 

"I think it's a 'C'," Hermione said. The others nodded in agreement. 

Brownie straightened out the "C" and brought in two more lines of spiders. 

"H," everyone present muttered. 

Brownie kept directing other spiders to make letters. Soon, the humans had a chain of them. 

"A." 

"M." 

"B." 

"E." 

"R." 

"O." 

"F." 

"S." 

"E." 

"C." 

"R." 

"E." 

"Chamber of Secrets!" Harry shouted as he jumped up. Brownie applauded with her two front legs and dispersed the spiders. The rest of her eight-legged friends spread out over the wall, waiting to watch and see what happened next. 

"We need a plan," Hermione muttered to herself. 

Ron was about to say that they didn't, but he stopped himself in time and sat in silence, thinking deeply. 

Harry gave up on thinking. "Hermione, if it's taking you this long to come up with a plan," he finally said after thirty seconds, "then there probably isn't one to come up with." 

Hermione bit her lip. "There has to be something Voldemort forgot," she insisted. 

"Voldemort?" Malfoy asked. "You honestly think he would let something be forgotten when he has the chance to kill Harry? He's probably taken care of everything- even if it's so menial as to be a stray hair. Trust me, I'd know. If I tried to kill Harry- not that I have," he noted with a small but unmistakably evil grin, "but I'd make sure I got it right the third time." 

"So there's nothing we can do..." Hermione said more to herself than to them. "Maybe we could wait him out?" 

She looked up to the faces of everyone else in the room, all staring at her as if she were an idiot. 

"Or not. But there must be something!" 

"How about this?" Harry proposed. "We go in there. We're a group. We can take him on." 

"Well, we could at least get some more help then." 

"The teachers are all busy in the infirmary. The ghosts are helping them. The paintings can't do anything." 

"Surely-" 

"Hermione," Harry said forcefully. 

Hermione sighed. Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait here!" she shouted back to them as she dashed off. 

"But Lily and James!" Harry shouted after her. When he got no response, he sank into a chair. He was perfectly willing to fight Voldemort, but he knew he was much better off fighting him with Ron and Hermione at his side. 

* * * 

Lily eyes blinked open. Besides feeling a bit groggy, she felt perfectly fine. Not even a scratch on her. There was a pipe sticking into her back, but that was nothing major. She moved a bit and relaxed. She started as she saw James sitting next to her, his back against a wall. 

"Hey, Lily," he said softly. 

"James?" she asked. 

He nodded. He looked to something slightly behind her, as if checking it. She didn't have the nerve to see what he was looking at. 

"What happened?" she asked. 

"Voldemort happened," James said dryly. "He got enough energy and power and all that from the two of us to become human again." Lily sat up and scooted onto the wall next to him, still not looking at what he had looked at seconds before. "He's using us as bait to get Harry here." 

"He isn't-" Lily flashed back to her dreams from when she had been younger. She gasped and covered her mouth with a hand. "He wouldn't-" 

James looked at her evenly. The light was dim, but Lily could still see that his eyes were red a slightly puffy. Suddenly, he hugged her. She hugged back. So James was James again. Her brother was back. Too bad Voldemort would kill them all now. 

"We can't let him do it, James. We can't." 

"I know. But I can't-" James swallowed. "I can't go up against him again, Lily. You have no idea what he-" He cut himself off and shivered. "I couldn't do a thing, Lily. I couldn't do a thing." 

She hugged him. "It's all right now. But we have to try and get out of here. Tell Harry that Voldemort is in his own body again." 

James slowly nodded. 

"Do you know where we are?" 

James nodded and sniffled a bit. He shivered again and then became calm again. "We're in the Chamber of Secrets." 

"Chamber of Secrets," Lily muttered to herself. She grinned a little as the life and vivaciousness sprang back into her eyes. "James?" she asked. 

"Hmm?" 

"Can you still talk to snakes?" 

He looked up at her. "Parseltongue? Of course I can. But how? All the snakes left, remember?" 

Lily nodded. "But they're in the Forbidden Forest, and Parseltongue carries, just like Areanatu. See that pipe?" Lily indicated the pipe near her back. "I think that pipe goes outside. If we're lucky, it'll still reach the Forest." 

"If." 

Lily nodded again and shrugged. "But it's the best bet we have." 

"How will it help us, though?" 

"Because those creatures, along with spiders, outnumber any creatures in this place, And Voldemort can't fight off all of them." 

"But surely some of them will-" 

Lily nodded, understanding. "Sure, but they want to get back at Voldemort. And they have a witch and wizard to help them." 

* * * 

Hermione dashed back into the Gryffindor House's common room. Her smile was erased from her face when she saw that the room looked nearly bare. Harry, Ron, Malfoy, and the kids were there, but for some reason, the room still looked incredibly empty. She realized what it was with a shock. 

"Where are the spiders?" 

Becky shrugged. She was playing chess with Doug, waiting until they could go into the Chamber. "Don't know. They left. I tried to find out why, but Brownie didn't answer back." 

"If they understood what she was saying," Doug said. "Becky shouted in English, so we know they heard. I think the Ravenclaws heard, and the Hufflepuffs, so the spiders definitely must have heard. They just either didn't understand us or ignored us." He ordered one of his bishops to take one of Becky's knights and watched, pleased, as the bishop lifted its staff and knocked the knight off its horse. Becky pouted indignantly and nearly put her king in check. 

Malfoy looked up from the cookies he was eating in the kitchen. Hermione saw that he had drowned them in vanilla ice cream. "I'm glad those blasted creatures left. I've finally gotten my appetite back." He stuck a spoonful of slop into his mouth and gave a happy sigh. 

"I never thought I would agree with Malfoy," Ron said regrettably, "but I do." 

Hermione's brow creased in disapproval. Harry had fallen asleep while waiting for her. She was glad he was finally getting sleep; he hadn't had a perfect night's sleep in years, but he could choose the absolute worst times to catch up on his beauty rest. She kicked the chair he was in and he snorted awake. Becky giggled, and one of her chessmen tried to cheat. He was beaten off by Doug's queen. 

"Well, if you're interested," Hermione said, "I've brought help." 

Professor Nadim stepped through the portrait hole. Along with the Yellow Lady and Nearly Headless Nick. 

"Hope we can tag along," Nick said. "Hermione figured we could do some good, since we can walk through walls and- well, of course you know all that." 

"They do, dear. They do," the Yellow Lady told him. 

"You know me, Lady," Nick said with a grin. "Always trying to make sure everyone knows everything." 

The Lady covered her mouth daintily and giggled. 

Becky and Doug looked at each other, along with everyone else in the room, both looking as if they wanted to throw up. 

Professor Nadim, behind them, stepped forward. "The other teachers didn't need me for anything. I thought I might help somewhere along the way." 

Harry nodded gratefullly. "Thanks, Woodrow. I appreciate it." 

"We appreciate it," Ron corrected. 

"We," Hermione agreed. 

"Yeah, Woodrow," Malfoy said with a sneer. "Thanks for going along with us on our suicide mission. Want some cookies n' cream? Muggle food. Awful, but it falls into the tastes of people around here." 

Hermione covered her hand with her mouth and bit her finger, staring at the "muggle food" with a murderous look in her eyes. Harry and Ron smiled at each other uncertainly. 

Malfoy grinned at her, and Hermione gave a small humph and made a book appear with her wand in the air. Holding her hands out, she let the book fall into her arms. "These are some spells we'll need to know. Mostly for protection. Becky, Doug, you two will be staying here." 

"But Hermione!" Doug and Becky shouted. 

"Harry, don't let her," Becky begged. 

"Yeah, Ron. You too! Don't let her!" Doug joined in. 

"No," Hermione said firmly. "It's too dangerous." 

"She's right," Ron said slowly. 

Becky and Doug's mouths dropped. Becky stepped back and sniffled quickly. She took one last look at Hermione, who looked away, and dashed off to her bedroom. After giving Hermione a quick glare, which the woman pretended not to notice, Doug went after her. 

Hermione cleared her throat when they had gotten out of earshot. "Now," she began. 

It seemed like forever, but they finally left. 

"Ready?" Doug asked. 

"Aren't I always?" Becky retorted. 

"You know, I know you won't like my saying this, but I don't think a bunch of protection spells taken from our first year DADA (Defense Against the Dark Arts) books are going to help us much." 

"Shows what you know. Come on." Haughtily, Becky led the way downstairs. 

Doug wrung his hands around his wand nervously. "Becky, we don't even know where the Chamber of Secrets is." 

"You don't," she replied. "They were going to destroy it. There were a whole bunch of plans for it and everything, but then Malfoy figured he wanted it for his Potions classes." Doug shivered at the thought of having Potions somewhere worse than the dungeons. "Yeah," Becky said, seeing him try to cover up for it. "He was trying to convince everyone to let him, but he brought everything to a standstill. That was two or three years ago. I doubt anyone knows about it now." 

"We still can't defeat Voldemort," Doug pointed out. 

"We aren't going to beat him, just help out Harry, Ron, and Hermione a bit. All right?" 

Doug mumbled something in response. 

Becky quickened her pace. She wasn't going to admit it to Doug, but she was following the two pearly and yellow-colored ghosts in front of them. If they didn't go to the Chamber of Secrets and changed their minds or something, Becky and Doug were out of luck. 

BTW, PLZ RE-Veu (By the way, please review.) 


	16. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 16

Hi guys! So this is (yet) another part of the story. I think you'll like it. Anyway, you know which characters are J.K.Rowling's, and you know which ones are from my messed up imagination. Copyright 2000. 

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Chapter 17 ~ Secrets Revealed 

"Ew," Becky muttered. "Ew. Ew. Ew. Ewewewewewewewewewew." 

"All right," Doug hissed at her. "I get the point, okay? Yeah, this is really, really gross. Shut up about it." 

The two were standing in the girls' bathroom with Moaning Myrtle standing nearby, her eyes red, as was her nose, which sniffled from time to time, but she was still looking at them with a look of amusement. There was a large, black hole in front of them, and Doug and Becky could feel the cool air on their faces as they stood there. Becky looked again at the walls of slime and said another "Ew," partially in spite of Doug. 

"Look," Doug said firmly. "They went down there. We followed- I mean, came here for nothing if we don't go." 

Becky's expression went from grossed out to indignation, then suddenly to acceptance. Well, she had followed the others here. Apparently she hadn't hidden the fact from Doug as well as she had hoped. She took a deep breath and released it shakily. 

Nodding slightly, Doug grabbed her hand, "1... 2... 3!" 

They jumped. 

* * * 

James sat against the wall and shrugged. He and Lily had been speaking through the pipe for the past hour, it seemed. It had probably been longer. Neither of them had a watch that was in tact- Lily's had broken at some point since Voldemort had attacked her in the hallway. 

"So that's it," Lily said sadly. "My great plan wasn't so great." 

James shrugged again. "It was a good plan," he told her, trying in vain to comfort her. "I never would have thought of it." 

"That's because you're an idiot." 

James stared at her, his jaw hanging from his face as if it weren't even a part of him at all. Then it dawned on him that Lily had been joking- It was sibling rivalry. He grinned. "At least I look good." 

The look Lily gave him- one clearly saying that he was crazy- made him grab without a hope for a better insult. "At least I don't have friends with eight legs." 

"At least my friends don't crawl around on their stomachs!" Lily retorted. 

"SHUT UP!" a man yelled at them as he walked towards the two. Lily gasped. This was the first time she had actually seen Voldemort. He didn't look nearly as bad as she had imagined. He was about sixteen years old, and he had neatly combed jet-black hair. As if reading her mind, Voldemort grinned and said, "I wanted to look good for when I met your father again. I wanted to be someone he would recognize." 

Lily bit her lip, trying to think. 

Voldemort laughed. A malicious laugh. "I don't think so, Little Lily. I don't think any of you are going to get away from me this time. No, not this time," he said more to himself than to anyone else. 

"I beg to differ," came a calm voice from behind them. 

Lily turned around to look. "Dad!" she shouted, half in joy, half in fear. 

"Dad?" James asked. "Did I miss something?" 

* * * 

"Don't you have some comment to make about hygiene or something?" Malfoy had sneered as he picked his way around a pile of slime. 

Hermione had raised her head and looked down her nose at him. "Why? You're a wizard. Take care of your own health." 

"Ouch." 

Harry and Ron looked at each other. Ron kissed the air and fluttered his eyelids. Harry nodded in agreement. 

"Just what are you two doing?" Hermione nearly shouted, seeing Ron. Nick tried to shush her by putting his hand over her mouth and merely managed to almost send her into shock with his freezing cold hand. 

Once she had recovered, Ron said innocently, "Oh, nothing. You know, it has no _relation_ to what we're doing, really." Harry chuckled. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione warned, rubbing her wand with an evil glint in her eye. 

"That isn't nice, Hermione. We're friends, remember? It would be really _lovely_ if you didn't make threats like that." 

"You want to see a threat?" Hermione asked sweetly. 

Harry tuned them out, listening for any sounds. The Yellow Lady and Nick had somehow fallen behind them, and Harry couldn't help but hear the Lady giggle a bit now and then, and Nick's low laugh. Finally, up ahead, he heard something, ever so faintly in the distance, "I don't think so, Little Lily. I don't think any of you are going to get away from me this time. No, not this time." 

"I beg to differ," Harry said evenly, wary yet still trying to seem brave. 

"We'll continue this later," Hermione snapped at Ron. 

"Did I miss something?" James had just finished asking. 

Voldemort turned around. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Robin Hood himself. I see you left your tights behind you." He pointed his wand at Harry, ready to fire with a curse. 

"Oh, gee. Lookit, mister! He's shaking!" said a new voice. Everyone looked behind the new arrivals. "Oops," Becky said from the shadows. "I guess I said that out loud, didn't I?" 

Doug swallowed and nodded. "Ladies first," he said, shoving her into view. "She did it!" he told the other adults- carefully not talking to or looking at Voldemort. "You know me. I'm just a young impressionable kid, and she- OW!" 

Becky had hit him as hard as she could across the face with her wand. "My fault? You're the guy! You're supposed to take charge!" James nudged Lily. They started creeping along the wall towards the others. "I mean, I'm just a little, young, scared girl, and you're stronger than me!- Yeah, yeah, that's it! You scared me into making you come!" 

The Lady snorted and quickly covered her mouth. She started giggling again. 

James and Lily were fifteen feet away and gaining. 

"As much as I would like to view the little comedy of errors," Voldemort drawled tiredly, "I'm afraid I have business to attend to." 

"Your business is walking away!" shouted a new voice hysterically. Everyone once again turned to see who it was, except for Voldemort, who made James and Lily stop where they were by pointing his wand at them. 

Standing by an ancient basilisk body, now slowly decaying, was Hannah, Doug's mother. 

"What is this!" Malfoy shouted. "A party or something?" 

"A party? And I wasn't invited?" There was a small wail and a sniffle. "Well, I'm coming anyway. I'm up for a party- as long as no one makes fun of me." 

"Uh-oh," Ron said slowly. He looked to Harry and Hermione. All of them were shaking their heads. 

"Where's the party?" asked the ghost, now coming into sight. She wasn't the prettiest girl, but nor was the ugliest. She looked perfectly normal, except for her slightly red nose and red and puffy eyes, magnified slightly by her glasses. Moaning Myrtle stopped dead (suddenly), when she saw Voldemort. "YOU!" she shouted. 

Voldemort rolled his eyes. 

"You were mean to me!" Myrtle shouted, bursting into renewed tears. 

"Oh, geez!" Ron shouted frustrated. 

The Lady moved towards Myrtle and spoke to her. Myrtle nodded and slowly composed herself again. 

Hannah stepped towards Voldemort, carefully trying to keep from tripping in her skirt, dress shirt, and high heels. "Think you could let me know with a bit more notice next time?" she said grouchily. "I was in the middle of a conference." 

"There won't be a next time," Voldemort assured her. 

Hannah was careful not to say anything back. 

"Mom?" Doug asked, his voice halfway caught in his throat. It came out as a quick squeak. 

"Oh, honey. Hey. I, uh, didn't know you'd, uh, be here," Hannah said with a meaningful look at Voldemort. He shrugged. "I hope you're going to get older," Hannah told Voldemort softly, seeing his mere sixteen-year-old complexion and thinking of her own forty-something complexion. 

"I'll make you younger," Voldemort promised. 

Hannah brightened considerably. 

James and Lily looked at each other, hopeless. Suddenly, they heard something. 

_Honestly, girl. I told you would get stuck in your own web one day._ Lily's eyes lit up and she mouthed the word "Brownie" to James. Her brother nodded and put a finger to his lips. 

_Jamesss, Jamesss, Jamesss. You found the old hangout, we sssee._ This was not, however, Poison's voice. 

Harry noticed that Voldemort was listening now also; he had heard the Parseltongue too. He signaled to Ron and Hermione, who were watching the two men and the boy curiously. 

_Where's Poison?_ James asked. 

_I'm here,_ Poison called. _I had to go to the Forbidden Foressst and get help. Got all the sssnakesss I could find. Couldn't have done it without Aragog'sss help._

"Aragog?" Voldemort muttered. 

Harry covered his mouth in awe. The snakes were sided with the spiders? But that meant that all the spiders- No, the basilisk was dead. They weren't afraid of this place anymore. That meant the spiders... 

"Goodness," Harry said. 

"The entire population from Hogwarts, surrounding towns, and the Forest," Lily mouthed to him. 

Harry wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead and told the others who were with him. 

"Who's Aragog?" Voldemort mumbled to himself. 

"Aragog?" Hannah repeated. "Aragog. Aragog. Why do I know that name?" 

"Because you've heard it before, perhaps?" inquired a deep, wheezy voice. Out of the darkness behind Harry and his "party", a long, furred leg appeared. Seven more attached to a slightly grey body followed, not even having to stretch to stand above the adults' heads. 

Malfoy cursed loudly, jumping up and down uncontrollably. It wasn't until Myrtle started laughing at him that he even tried to control himself again. Ron, looking up and recognizing the spider, went a ghastly white shade and desperately tried to keep his knees from knocking. 

"You speak English?" Voldemort asked, thinking deeply. 

"Yes. Hagrid taught me." 

The claw reached for Doug's mother. Doug closed his eyes and held onto Becky while Hannah screamed loudly enough to wake the dead. 

"If that doesn't wake my mother up," Nick said optimistically, "I don't know what will." 

"Would you like to work for me?" Voldemort asked Aragog calmly. 

"How DARE you?!" Lily shouted at him, aghast that someone would try to hire a spider. James holding her back was the only thing that kept her from charging. 

Voldemort laughed. So did Aragog. 

"The human knows much more than you," the large spider said. Voldemort's grin faded a little. "Never try to control or even suggest it to a spider," Aragog informed the wizard. "A thing like that could get you killed. NOW!" he shouted. 

_NOW!_ James and Harry joined in. 

Immediately, swarms and hordes of spiders and snakes flew into the great underground cavern like a sea. Harry started running to Voldemort, yelling at James and Lily to get away from there as fast as possible. Ron and Hermione, not to mention Malfoy, charged Voldemort. 

"And that's for making my family lose over half their riches!" Malfoy shouted as he gave Voldemort a neat punch. 

Hermione snapped at Malfoy and called him something that would have made the wizarding and muggle worlds both blush with shame. "You take his wand away first, you idiot!" With that, she grabbed Voldemort's wand away while he was still shocked from the punch and snapped it in half. Ron got out James and Lily's wands from Voldemort's robes and deposited them in his own. 

Malfoy got in a few more punches before Harry joined in with the worst curses he could think of- as did Ron and Hermione. 

The two ghosts, Nick and the Lady, and Woodrow Nadim, the astrology teacher, went after Hannah as she ran away blindly, screaming for fear of the snakes and spiders. Moaning Myrtle ran along side, "Boo"-ing the living woman at each step. Hannah tripped, crying. 

Professor Nadim fell on her and backed up as he held his wand at the ready, preparing to do a spell. 

"NO!" Hannah cried out. "Tom Marvolo Riddle!" Instantly, there was a blinding white light that set many snakes into fits of cursing and a burst of smoke which did not help the reptiles. The spiders started laughing at their legless friends- neither the sudden change of light or the change in the air affected them that much. 

An owl appeared, flying from the could of smoke. It's face was a milky-white disk, set with two dark, wise yet fearful eyes. 

"Hannah!" Voldemort cried weakly. "Come back!" 

The owl shrieked and flew back down a hallway. 

"Mom!" Doug shouted after it. The owl didn't even screech. 

"Doug! Becky!" Lily shouted joyfully as she hugged them. "You made it! Voldemort's gone! And we found a cure! And James is back to normal! And everything's just great!" She paused and saw the look on Doug's face, realizing what she had said. She hugged him tighter. "I'm sorry," she said. 

"Don't be," said a voice from behind them. They turned to see Professor Nadim. 

Doug didn't say anything. 

Professor Nadim sat down next to him on the ground. "I must admit, you are quite a stupid wizard." 

"Stupid?" Doug asked in shock. He'd never been called stupid by a teacher before. 

Nadim nodded. "Your mother was not born a witch," he said slowly. "I think Voldemort gave her whatever powers she had to serve him." 

"What do you know about my mother?" Doug asked testily. 

"You said Voldemort's name," Becky said in shock. What was wrong with people around here? They all said You-Know-Who's name as if it were like any other! 

Nadim nodded. "Your mother had to learn it from somewhere." 

The children looked at one another, confused. 

Nadim sighed. "I introduced her to the wizarding world years ago- many years before any of you were born. She didn't seem too disturbed by it. Indeed, she seemed to like having a wizard as a husband. I never dreamed she would meet Voldemort and-" he swallowed- "work with him." 

Doug's jaw dropped after a few silent minutes. "Are you saying you're my father?" 

"Oops. I guess I should have said that straight out." 

The other adults had joined them by now, dragging an unconscious Voldemort between them. Hermione had apparently bewitched him somehow. 

"That means, Doug," Harry said calmly, "that unless you want to go live with someone else, you can live with your father at Hogwarts." 

"Are you serious?" Doug asked. 

The adults, all except for Voldemort, nodded. 

"All right!" Doug shouted, jumping up. 

"And James," Hermione said, "I don't think you heard the news, but you and Lily are moving in with Harry tonight. Or this morning. I tend to lose track of time down here." 

"I'm here too!" Becky shouted in delight. "I'll have kids my own age to play- I mean, talk- with! And better yet, you guys!" She grinned and grabbed Doug's hands. They spun around in circles, laughing, while Lily and James simply stood there, watching them and smiling slightly. 

"Too many kids," Malfoy muttered. 

"You behave," Hermione ordered sharply. 

"Yeah, Malfoy. Hermione would, uh, _love_- I mean, _hate_"- he fluttered his eyelashes at this point- "for you to be bad." 

Harry burst out laughing. 

"YOU!" Hermione shouted. She took out her wand. 

Ron, his face red from laughing, stopped laughing when he saw her wand pointed at him. "Uh-oh." 

"Better run, Ron," Harry warned. 

"I'll say," Malfoy agreed, taking out his own wand and smiling with evil glee. 

Ron took the advice and sprinted out of sight. 

"Lily," Hermione said solemnly. 

"Yes, Hermione?" 

"I'm going to need to ask the spiders- a lot of spiders- to do me a few favors." 

After a few minutes, Lily and James were finally alone with Harry as they walked slowly towards the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. James was still speechless. Apparently, he had been too troubled with Voldemort to even notice Harry that much. 

"One thing I want to ask you," Lily said. 

"What is it?" 

"Who is our mother? I've done a lot of reading, but nothing ever mentions her." 

"Oh, that. Well, that's because- Well, your mother is- OW!" He rubbed a hand through his hair and groaned as it came away with slimy muck on it. He looked around to catch the culprit. 

"PARTY!" Moaning Myrtle shouted happily as she chucked another ball at Malfoy. Seeing that it had hit him square in the face, Myrtle said happily, with her hands on her hips, "And that's for being so mean!" 

_______________________________________________________________________-- Please Re-veu. 


	17. Harry Potter and the Twick, Part 17

Here it is: The very last part in the "Harry Potter and the Twick" series. Enjoy! It's very short. 

Disclaimer: Of course, I couldn't have come up with all these characters on my own. They were almost all created by J.K. Rowling, so you can thank her. The rest, of course, are from my own twisted mine. Oh, yeah! Copyright 2000! 

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Chapter 18 ~ Another Problem 

The ghost stood there in his tropical shorts and Hawaiian shirt and sandals. He had tied back his long silver hair into a ponytail and wore his wizard's hat lopsided on his head. He looked over his half-moon spectacles at Harry. 

"So Voldemort is over?" he finally asked. 

Harry nodded. "He's in Azkaban. I don't think he'll be coming back." 

"We told them to guard him 24-7," Hermione said. "Not that we needed to, but I feel better telling them that." 

"24-7," the ghost, Professor Dumbledore, muttered to himself. "I like that. 24-7" 

Ron took a sip of his tea. "We still haven't found Hannah, though, but I don't think she's much of a threat." 

"Yes, I agree. She couldn't even tell muggles about us unless she wanted them to think she was crazy." 

"Thank God for that," Harry said. 

Someone in the hallway laughed, and they heard Becky give a small shriek. "GEORGE!" Becky screamed. "Don't stop! GO!" 

"Too many children," Malfoy muttered. Nadim saw Hermione looking at him and pointed to a heavy book on the bookshelf behind and above where Malfoy was standing, indicating how he wanted to pull it out and drop it on Malfoy's head. Hermione rubbed her wand thoughtfully. 

A few minutes later, Lily, James, Becky, Doug, and Soup crashed in through the door of Harry's office, laughing. They stopped when they saw Professor Dumbledore. 

"Cowabunga," Dumbledore greeted them with a slight nod and a peace sign. 

"Cowabunga," the children slowly said. 

After introductions were over, Lily went up to Harry. "Hedwig just dropped this off." 

"Why didn't she drop it off in the office?" Harry asked, to himself more than to her. 

Lily shrugged. "It looked like he was hungry. I think he had a mouse in his beak, but he was too far off to tell." 

Harry nodded and read the letter. 

"Are you children ready for exams?" Dumbledore asked. 

"More than ready," Becky answered. "Except Soup. He gets exempt." 

Soup grinned. "Can't say I weegwet it, eida." 

"James," Hermione said. "One thing I meant to ask you. How did Voldemort possess you?" 

James groaned and rubbed his stomach. "I started feeling funny when you guys came to our hotel room. I thought it was the gummi bears. I probably shouldn't have eaten them while they were mixed with butter." 

"I think that's it," Hermione said. "The butter must have had something in it. Voldemort would have affected the thing most likely to get to the most people. That way he'd be able to choose who he wanted to possess. Smart. Very smart." Dumbledore nodded in agreement. 

Harry cleared his throat. "I think we've got trouble." 

"What kind of trouble?" Ron asked. "Girl trouble? I might be able to help there." 

Hermione snorted and almost fell out of her chair laughing. 

"No. Worse." 

Harry paused, not knowing how to tell them this. 

"OUT WITH IT!" Malfoy finally shouted. 

Harry sighed. "All right, all right. Voldemort escaped from Azkaban." 

Slowly, everyone looked at everyone else. 

Moaning Myrtle, who had walked through the wall just in time to hear, wailed and ran off. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other. Malfoy popped his fingers and punched the palms of his hands. Nadim bit his lip. Dumbledore "Hmm"-ed thoughtfully. Neville cried out and tried to hide under his too-small chair while Hagrid took a deep gulp of his brandy. The children looked at each other. 

"The library?" Lily asked. 

Doug groaned. "The library. Maybe they have the Internet. I hate using books." 

"The libewy," Soup said. 

"Do I have to- OOP" Lily grabbed Becky's arm and started a mad dash for the library. 

Doug, James, and Soup were the only ones left in the room besides the adults. 

"You have to admit," James said slowly. "The wizarding world is never boring." 

"I hear that too much stress can be bad for you," Doug pointed out. 

"Shouldn't we get to the libewy befo' the ladies?" Soup asked. 

"The ladies?" James echoed. He shook his head. Soup was trying his best to say words that didn't contain R's. 

"Let's go research ourselves into suicide!" Doug said happily as he sprinted past them and down the stairs. 

"Dad? We're going-" 

"Trust me, I think I know. Just get us involved when you get done with the research, okay?" 

"You'd miss the fun?" 

Harry grinned. "Trust me, we're not missing any fun." 

James grinned and went off after Lily. Along the way, the Gryffindor team's new Beater stopped in the kitchen. He wasn't in any rush to get to the library. There, he met Doug. The two dug into the junk food- careful to avoid not only the healthy food and the butter as well. 

"Gotta hand it to the girls and Soup," Doug said as he stuffed another handful of potato chips into his mouth. 

"Hmm?" James reached for some more of Bernie Bott's Beans. 

"They don't know when to quit." 

James nodded in agreement. "Think this'll happen next year, too?" 

"Nah. Most likely Voldemort will try and kill us some time this summer. But look at it this way. At least we won't have to come to school again next year." 

They laughed and kept eating. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Please Re-veu ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Author's Note: I can't say who the mother is just yet- trust me though- it'll be good. I'm waiting until Ms. Rowling fills in some blanks. I meant for this story to be used from the release of the fourth book on. That's why I've avoided a few things. Anyway, I think we'll all find out soon enough. Please, don't be mad. *Hey! Stop hitting me! OW! Okay, okay. Please stop hitting me, uh, so hard?* 


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